ALTOONA, Pa. (Dec. 1, 2012) - Following the second day of action at Holiday Bowl in the Red Flash Invitational the Saint Francis University bowling team posted another strong effort on the lanes and lead the tournament by 418 pins heading into Sunday's final round.

"Again we saw a day with a slower start, but today it was a matter of a handful of shots in key carry situations," head coach Tom Falbo said. "Once this group settled in they do what they have done all season which is get better throughout the day. Tomorrow our plan will be to settle in and set our focus from the first ball to the last ball."

With a 3-1 record Saturday, the Red Flash move to a 7-2 mark for the tournament through two days of action on the lanes. SFU continued its strong play into the second round and are still at the top of the leaderboard in terms of pinfall. The Flash have rolled a cumulative total pinfall of 8,724 for the two days. As a team, SFU did not bowl a game lower than 884 on Saturday and threw a game of 1,107 in its final match of the day against Ursuline. Saint Francis fell to the Arrows in baker play Friday afternoon. Kutztown handed SFU its only loss of the day in match two by a final of 962-884.

Marissa Matassa (Plum, Pa./Plum Senior) continues her breakout junior season by earning the top individual honor of the tournament, Most Valuable Player, placing her also on the all-tournament team. Joining Matassa on the all-tournament squad for her play during Saturday's traditional game play is freshman Ashley Howe.

Matassa rolled three games of 200 or better to finish with a 209 average for the day. Howe on the other hand rolled two of five games of 200 or better for an average of 199.8. Heidi Baumert (Lincoln, Neb./Pius X) just barely missed qualifying for a spot on the five-member all-tournament team as she averaged a 192.6 on Saturday.

"Marissa and Ashley have known each other a long time. As the day went on, they began to feed off each other and by the end of the day it became contagious," Falbo said. "Ashley stayed strong and is so good to respond to transition. Marissa started strong, responded to what she saw with a great ball change and threw over 240 in both games four and five with a 245 and 242. Another great day for Marissa and important contribution to the team."