UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The 2016 Saint Francis men's volleyball team keeps rewriting their own history. After falling behind one set to none, the fourth-seeded Red Flash rattled off three-straight sets to knock off the top-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions, 3-1, at Rec Hall on Thursday night to advance to the EIVA Championship match against the third-seeded George Mason Colonials. The Flash won the match, 27-29, 28-26, 25-22 and 25-23.  

"We have accomplished a lot so far this season. Coming to Penn State and beating them at home – and to add to that –coming back to win a playoff game against Penn State," said head coach Mike Rumbaugh. "We are very, very confident. We feel really good, and we have another big match with George Mason coming up. "

Penn State had won 17 consecutive conference championship before falling to Saint Francis in the semifinals. After going 0-37 before this season, the Flash now own a two-game winning streak against the NIttany Lions. This is Saint Francis' first appearance in the championship game since 2007, and the biggest win in program history.

"I think that this is the biggest win in program history. We saw the matchup, and knew we had to play them at some point and I am glad that we got it out of the way early," added Rumbaugh.

Jeff Hogan (Northern Cambria, Pa./Northern Cambria) finished with a match-high 22 kills, while Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central) tallied 11 kills, finished with a .625 hitting percentage and added six total blocks.  Daniel Ford (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) dished out 47 assists, while Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) recorded 12 digs.

SFU would take the early lead in the fourth set at 6-3, but it was short lived. Both teams would trade points throughout the set. SFU used a 4-0 run to take a 12-9 lead, highlighted by a service ace by Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) and a kill by Keith Kegerreis (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg). A Hogan kill ended a three-point run by PSU, as the Nittany Lions took a 14-13. Saint Francis gained a 20-18 advantage, but Penn State would tie the score at 20-20 and 21-21. The Flash scored the last two points to take the fourth set, 25-23.

The Flash opened the first set with a 4-2 advantage, highlighted by two service aces by Xavier Krause (Butler, Pa./Butler). The momentum switched after four-straight service aces by Jalen Penrose jumped started a 4-0 run for the Nits and took a 10-7 lead. A kill by Braswell and another service ace by Krause tied the score at 16-16, and forced Penn State to call their first timeout of the half. Out of the timeout, PSU would outscore SFU, 4-1, to take a 20-17 lead, and caused Saint Francis to use their first timeout. A service ace by Braswell and a solo block by Kegerreis knotted the score at 21-21, and made PSU use their last timeout of the first set. With PSU leading 25-24, a Hogan kill would tie the score at 25-25. An attack error by Saint Francis ended the marathon set in favor of Penn State, 29-27. The set featured 11 tie scores and six lead changes.

"We kind of struck to the same game plan as we did last match. We had different matchups this time, and we had to adjust during the game. We did not have as much pressure on us that Penn State did," continued Rumbaugh.

The Flash would take a 6-3 lead in the second set. A combination block by Ford and Marshman extended Saint Francis' lead to four at 8-4. Saint Francis would again stretch their lead to four at 14-10.  After a long rally, a Chris Nugent kill brought the Nittany Lions within one at 15-14. The Flash regained the lead after a kill by Marshman, but PSU stole back it at 17-16 after another kill by Nugent. With the Flash facing being down two sets to none, SFU used a 3-0 run to tie the score at 24-24. An attack error by Penn State gave Saint Francis the 26-25 lead, forcing PSU to use their last timeout of the set. A Marshman service ace gave the Flash the second set, 28-26.

Saint Francis pulled out to an early 6-3 lead in the third set. Two combination blocks by Penn State tied the score at 7-7. Neither team could gain much of an advantage throughout the set.  A ball handling error by Penn State gave Saint Francis a three-point lead at 18-15. A block by Hogan, Marshman and Krause gave Saint Francis a 21-18 lead, and made PSU burn their final timeout of the set. A Braswell kill gave the Flash the win, 25-22, and took a two sets to one lead. The Flash defense held the Nittany Lions to just a .091 hitting percentage in the set.

Saint Francis takes on George Mason on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Rec Hall for the EIVA Championship.