BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – Mark Kochan (Towaco, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) had 17 kills and Lucas Behringer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) tied his season high with 14 digs, but the Saint Francis men's volleyball team lost in five sets to George Mason in an EIVA matchup. The Patriots won 20-25, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25 and 15-11.
 
The Flash (9-11, 4-4) raced to a first set victory on the strength of Kochan and Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central). Kochan hit a perfect 1.000 with five kills in the set as he scored four straight SFU points to give the team a 20-17 lead, prompting a George Mason timeout. Marshman had a kill to make it 21-18, and an ace for Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) and a kill for Kyle Beatty (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) sealed the set in the Flash's favor. Marshman had four kills on five attacks as the Flash hit .391 in the set. GMU was held to a .091 hitting percentage.
 
George Mason (11-10, 5-4) used an early run to take a 6-3 lead, but the Flash fought back with a 3-0 run to tie the score at 13. Patterson had two of the three points in the spurt. But the Patriots scored five of the next six points to retake control, 18-14. An Adam Barba (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) kill brought the Flash to within 23-22, but GMU scored two of the final three points of the set to even the match at a set apiece. SFU held George Mason to a .192 attack. The Patriots broke open a close third set with seven of the final eight points to win, 25-17. Kochan hit .714 (5-of-7) in the set and Behringer had five digs.
 
SFU responded in the fourth game after falling behind 9-4. Patterson had a kill and an ace and Beatty had two kills as the Flash went on a 6-1 run to tie the score at 10. Beatty's ace gave the Flash its first lead of the set at 13-12, and two kills by Colin Sherwin (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) fueled a 5-1 run to put SFU ahead, 19-15. GMU brought the score to 22-21, but a Kochan kill, Marshman block and a Sherwin kill forced the match to a fifth set. Sherwin hit .750 in the set as the team hit .462.
 
Kochan registered a kill to make it 7-6 GMU in the fifth set, but the Patriots scored the next four points to keep the Flash at bay. SFU never got closer than three points after the run.
 
Beatty finished with 14 kills while Sherwin had 10. The Flash out-blocked the Patriots 9-4.5.
 
The Flash has another EIVA home match tomorrow against Princeton. Start time is set for 4:00 p.m.