BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball entered a stretch last Sunday in which it would play seven of eight matches at home. So far, so good. With its 3-1 victory over Erskine on Saturday night at DeGol Arena, the Red Flash is 3-0 in the first segment of that stretch. Saint Francis beat the Flying Fleet 25-16, 25-18, 17-25 and 25-21.
 
The Red Flash (5-3) got off to a fast start in the first set, scoring the first seven points. A Kyle Beatty (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) ace capped the run at 7-0. Erskine tried to climb back into the set, but the Flash used a 9-2 run midway through the game to make the score 20-8 as SFU cruised to a 25-16 win. Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) had two kills in that final stretch. Beatty led SFU with three kills and six digs in the first frame while Patterson had two aces.
 
The second game started on even footing as SFU had a 9-8 lead before rattling off five straight scores with Patterson nailing two more aces and a kill in that run. With the score 16-12, Patterson registered another kill and Beatty added a kill and a block to move the score to 19-12. The teams traded points the rest of the way as SFU won, 25-18. The Flash hit .435 in the set to Erskine's .045. Adam Barba (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) had four kills in the game.
 
Erskine refocused in game three, as it never trailed after jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Mark Kochan (Towaco, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) paced the Flash in the 25-17 setback with three kills.  
 
SFU used a comeback in the fourth game to seal the match. Erskine jumped ahead 7-3 and led until Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) assisted on consecutive blocks with Mike Kresch and Adam Barba (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) to vault the Flash to a 12-11 lead. The score stayed tight until a 5-1 SFU run broke a 16-16 tie. Patterson had two kills in the span while Barba and Marshman combined for another block. Patterson's sixth kill of the set finished the match to give the Flash its third straight win. SFU hit .556 in game four.
 
Beatty led the way with 14 kills on 24 hits for a .458 hitting percentage. He also led the team with 13 digs. Patterson finished with four aces and 11 kills. Barba had eight kills and six digs while Marshman hit .500 with six kills while assisting on eight blocks.      
 
The Flash has a quick turnaround as it hits the road for the only game in this eight-game stretch. SFU plays at Ohio State tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.