BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – After losing the first two sets to No. 14 IPFW on Saturday night at DeGol Arena, the Saint Francis men's volleyball team was nearly able to extend the match to the fifth and final game. But IPFW pulled away late in the fourth set to take the match, 3-1. The Mastodons won 25-16, 25-21, 22-25 and 25-19.
 
Down 2-0, the third game turned Saint Francis' way just shy of the midway point with a 7-1 run to make it 16-11. In that span, senior Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) registered three consecutive aces and a kill. On the evening, Patterson finished with four aces and eight kills. The Mastodons (3-1) fought back to make it 18-17 SFU, but a successful attack by Colin Sherwin (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) put the ball back on the good side and effectively ended the IPFW surge for the set.
 
The Flash hit a team-best .458 in the game and finished with a .250 percentage. Setter Mike Kresch led the way with a .500 attack percentage. He also finished tied for second on the club with six digs with Sherwin, landing just one shy of team leader Lucas Behringer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral)'s seven digs.
 
Saint Francis (1-1) held the play early in the fourth game as it looked to push the game to the limit. SFU used a 5-0 run to take a 9-7 lead. Senior Kyle Beatty (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) scored three of the points, including an ace. The Mastodons rumbled ahead, 14-12, but the Flash scored four of the next five points to retake the lead, 16-15. IPFW turned up the heat, however, outscoring the Flash 10-3 to finish off the match.
 
Beatty's second set nearly helped the Flash to a tie match. The two teams traded points from 10 apiece to 18 each. In that span, Beatty had four of his six kills in the set. But IPFW scored four of the next five points to distance itself from the Flash to take a 2-0 lead. Beatty finished the match with a game-high 14 kills.
 
The Flash take to the road for the first time this season next weekend. SFU plays at King (Tenn.) on Friday and Lees-McRae on Saturday.