Box Score
Coach Rumbaugh's postgame interview

LORETTO, Pa. (Jan. 14, 2012) – The Saint Francis University men's volleyball team battled down to the wire but fell in five sets (24-26, 25-20, 25-22, 20-25, 12-15) to visiting IPFW Saturday night at DeGol Arena.

Contrary to last night's opening set, the Red Flash (1-1) got off to a sluggish start against IPFW (2-2). SFU found themselves trailing for a majority of set number one before a powerful service ace from sophomore Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) evened the score at 16. Nearing the first sets end, the Flash and Mastodons were in a 24 all tie. A service error and strong open court kill from IPFW pushed them past SFU 26-24 to open the match.

SFU jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the second set before IPFW called its first timeout. Coming out of the short break, the Flash kept up its high intensity play, holding a small cushion lead over the Mastodons. With the score 18-12, Saint Francis extended its advantage to a wider range on the way to a 25-20 set win, evening the match at one set a piece.

Tied in the match, the Flash and Mastodons drew similar scores as the third set got underway. Both teams exchanged points back and forth and neither could grab the lead and hold onto it for a long period of time. Similar to the end of the second set, the Flash began to pull away late. IPFW mounted a charge though and pulled to within two at 24-22 Flash. A final kill by Patterson on the left side of the court set up by senior Ryan Williams (Pittsburgh, Pa./Montour) propelled SFU to the 25-22 third set win, giving them a 2-1 advantage heading into set number four.

IPFW and SFU went toe-to-toe in the fourth set, neither team showing any signs of fatigue. The Mastodons grabbed a 16-12 lead midway through set number four, the largest point differential of the set at the time. The Flash fought its way back near the end of the set but it would not be enough to get past IPFW.

For the second night in a row, the match would head to a fifth and final set. Opening point went to the Flash but it would prove to be a battle right to the end. At the midpoint court side switch, SFU remained ahead 8-6. IPFW went on a four-point run at that point to force head coach Mike Rumbaugh to call a timeout. Senior Alex Kane (York, Pa./West York) put down a kill to keep the Flash alive late but the Mastodons earned the final point of the set to give them the set and match.

Kane and Patterson both registered double-digit figures in kills against the Mastodons as Kane put down 14 and Patterson reached 11. Patterson had a big night in terms of serving as he picked up five service aces. Williams tallied 43 assists on the night while sophomore Mark Kochan recorded a team-high five blocks. SFU added three more team blocks from last night's total of 12, giving them 15 tonight versus IPFW.

Saint Francis hits the road for a five-game swing beginning next Friday Jan. 20 when they travel to Fort Wayne, Ind. for a rematch with IPFW at 7 p.m.