LORETTO, Pa.  (Mar. 27, 2011) – Saint Francis head coach Michael Rumbaugh played 18 different players and his squad held visiting Pfeiffer to an .075 hitting percentage in a 3-1 non-conference men's volleyball victory on Sunday at DeGol Arena.

 

The Red Flash snapped a four-match losing streak with the win, which finished with set scores of 20-25, 25-20, 25-12 and 25-22. SFU improved to 9-12 on the year.

 

Freshman Logan Patterson hit .444 and had a match-high 11 kills for Saint Francis, while freshman Michael Krepp tallied 28 assists and seven digs. Freshman Wally Savage added five kills and two digs, and junior John Wappler (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) had seven digs and an assist.

 

The teams traded serves and points during the first half of Set 1 before the Red Flash were forced into a timeout as the Falcons took a 17-14 lead. The Red Flash pulled it to 17-15 and again 18-16, but Pfeiffer pulled away for the 25-20 win. The Falcons hit .250 in the first set, while SFU struggled to a -.071 hitting percentage.

 

The second set started in the same fashion with the teams trading ties and leads through an 11-11 tie, but an Adam Barba kill and a Pfeiffer hitting error gave SFU the lead for good. The Falcons pulled to within 13-12, but Saint Francis reeled off a 7-1 run to take a 20-13 lead. Pfeiffer pulled to within three, 21-18, but a kill by Seth Katich (Pittsburgh, PA/Fox Chapel) clinched it, 25-20, to tie the match at 1-1. The Red Flash hit .273 in the set, while the Falcons hit an even .000.

 

Saint Francis broke open a 3-2 game with a 6-2 run early in the third set and never looked back. Another 8-1 run later gave the Red Flash a 19-9 lead on their way to a 25-12 victory to take a 2-1 lead in the match. Saint Francis hit .542 in the set and held Pfeiffer below .100 (.087) for the second straight set. Patterson was a force with 7 kills and a .600 hitting percentage.

 

The Falcons battled in the fourth set and trailed 13-12 when SFU went on a 4-1 run to open up an insurmountable 17-13 lead. Pfeiffer called a timeout and rallied to pull within one on two occasions, 22-21 and 23-22, but couldn't get the equalizer as the Red Flash closed out the set/match with a kill by freshman Michael DeLyser and a hitting error by the Falcons. Saint Francis took the fourth set, 25-22, and the match, 3-1.

 

Eric Edelman and Drew Burdette paced Pfeiffer with 10 kills each, and Evan Fullerton had 28 assists.

 

For all the latest information, notes, pictures and related links on Saint Francis men's volleyball, follow Director of Athletic Communications Bob Volkert on Twitter (@SFUVolkert) and check www.SFUathletics.com. The Red Flash are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SFUAthletics.