BOX SCORE LORETTO, Pa. – The first three sets of Saturday afternoon's men's volleyball EIVA match with Princeton ended in fairly anticlimactic 25-20 final scores, so when the Tigers took a 24-21 lead in the fourth set and served for match point, it didn't seem as if this one would turn out any differently.
 
But Princeton misfired on its serve. Then, Logan Patterson (Derry, Pa./Derry Area) had a kill. Colin Sherwin (Greensburg, Pa./Greater Latrobe) added one to tie the score at 24. And after Mark Kochan (Towaco, N.J./Seton Hall Prep) scored to give the Flash the advantage, it looked as though there would be a fifth set. That answer wouldn't come for 11 more points.
 
Princeton tied the score at 25, 26, 27, 28 and 29 as the Flash couldn't convert on its set point opportunities. It wasn't from a lack of effort. SFU took a 27-26 lead on an outstanding play from Sherwin as he nearly went into the first row of seats at DeGol Arena to make a great save. The pass was a perfect set-up for Kyle Beatty (Saegertown, Pa./Saegertown) who slammed it home from the back row.
 
It looked as though the Flash won the set as it appeared they had scored their 30th point, but the team was whistled for a back row attack violation to instead tie the score at 29. An SFU hitting error and a block finished the 3-0 Princeton run to end the set, 31-29, and the match, 3-1.
 
Kochan and Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) each had five kills in the set, while Kochan and Sherwin each had 15 kills to lead the Flash in the match. Kochan hit .542 while Sherwin hit .565.
 
After losing a closely matched first set, SFU used a 6-2 run to build a 13-9 lead in the second. Princeton cut the lead to 15-12, but the Red Flash rattled off four straight points to make it 19-12, with Sherwin accounting for two of them. SFU cruised to the set win from there. The Red Flash out-hit Princeton, .346-.065 in the set, with Sherwin hitting a perfect 5-for-5.
 
The teams stayed close in game three as two consecutive Beatty kills tied the score at 20, but Princeton ripped off five straight points to win the set.
 
The Flash hit .353 for the match, topping Princeton's .293. Marshman had 12 kills in the match and hit .435. Michael Krepp (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Allegheny) had 52 assists and 10 digs while Lucas Behringer (Indianapolis, Ind./Cathedral) has 12 digs.
 
Saint Francis continues EIVA play next weekend at Sacred Heart and Harvard.