UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – After trailing one set to none, the Saint Francis men's volleyball team rallied off three straight sets to shock No. 6 Penn State, 3-1, at Rec Hall on Friday night. The Flash won the match, 21-25, 25-22, 25-23 and 25-23.

This is Saint Francis' first-ever victory against Penn State.

The Flash have won seven straight games and improves to 12-6 overall and 5-3 in the EIVA, while the Nittany Lions fall to 12-5 on the season and 7-1 in the EIVA.

"It feels really, really good now. I know that Saint Francis was 0-37 coming in. It felt really good to finally get that monkey off my back, and to do it at Penn State made it more special", said head coach Mike Rumbaugh.

Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) led the Flash with 20 kills on 40 attempts and added 10 digs. Jeff Hogan (Northern Cambria, Pa./Northern Cambria) tallied 13 kills, while Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) registered five total blocks. Daniel Ford (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) dished out a game-high 40 assists and finished with 11 digs. Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) added a team-high 12 digs.

In a hard-fought fourth set, Penn State would jump out to a 10-8 lead. The Nittany Lions would go on to score three unanswered points to lead, 14-11, forcing the Flash to use their first timeout of the set. The Flash answered with three straight points to cut the deficit to one at 16-15. The rest of the match remained tight, but a Hogan kill slammed the door shut on the set and match, 25-23.   

Both teams traded services early in the first set, but Penn State would take an 11-7 lead. The Flash would pull within two at 19-17, forcing the Nittany Lions to burn their first timeout. SFU threatened toward the end of the match, but a kill by Aidan Albrecht gave PSU the first set, 25-21.

"We wanted to get a big win for the program, for our school," said Hogan

Much like the first set, the second set started out with SFU and PSU exchanging points, but this time Saint Francis jumped out to an early 9-6 lead. The Red Flash used a 5-0 run to lead, 17-10, causing the Nittany Lions to use their last timeout of the second set. PSU rattled off five unanswered points to pull within two at 21-18. A Braswell kill gave the Flash the second set, 25-22.

Neither team could gain much of an advantage early in the third set. Saint Francis lead, 9-7, but Penn State went on a 3-0 run to take the lead, 10-9. SFU went on a 3-0 run of their own to lead,12-10. The Flash scored four unanswered points, highlighted by a block by Keith Kegerreis (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) and Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) to lead, 22-18. PSU would rally to tie the score at 23-23, but a Hogan service ace gave the Flash the third set, 25-23.

Saint Francis travels to Alderson Broaddus tomorrow at 7 p.m.