Flash Points:
- Saint Francis closes its five-match road trip at Ball State and Fort Wayne starting on Thursday.
- Thursday's match against Ball State will be broadcasted on ESPN 3, starting at 7:30 p.m.
- The Red Flash return home next Friday to face defending national champs Ohio State at 7 p.m.
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team travels to Ball State and Fort Wayne this week starting on Thursday. The match against Ball State is set for 7:30 p.m. and will broadcasted on ESPN 3 while Friday's match is scheduled for 7 pm.
ABOUT THE FLASH
Saint Francis opened the 2017 campaign with a pair of wins at the CBU Invitational last weekend, and holds a 2-1 record. After falling to Concordia in the first match of the season, SFU swept California Baptist and had to use a fifth set to defeat Lindenwood.
Jeff Hogan (Northern Cambria, Pa./Northern Cambria) was masterful during the weekend, leading the Flash in kills (47), points per set (4.46) and kills per set (3.92). Against Concordia, Hogan finished the match with 20 kills on 39 attacks which was good enough for a .462 hitting percentage. In a five-set victory against Lindenwood, the senior posted 18 kills and finished with a .467 clip. For his performance last weekend, Hogan was awarded EIVA Offensive Player of the Week.
Defensively,
Keith Kegerreis (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg) was a force upfront for the Flash, stuffing 13 blocks during the CBU Invite. Kegerreis led SFU with seven blocks against Lindenwood while adding six digs and 11 kills. For his efforts last weekend, the junior was tabbed as the EIVA Defensive Player of the Week
As a team, Saint Francis leads the EIVA in hitting percentage (.333); kills (149); kills per set (12.42); assists (137); digs (86); and blocks (43). The Red Flash have several players ranked near the top in the EIVA in statistics, with Hogan leading in kills (47) and hitting percentage (.419) while
Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) is the conference leader in digs with 26.
Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) ranks second in the EIVA in kills (39), while Kegerreis' 1.08 blocks per set only trail George Mason's Graham Gresham and
Daniel Ford (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North)'s 10.08 assists per set are also second.
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
Ball State comes into Thursday's matchup as the No.15-ranked team in the country. The Cardinals went 2-1 at the Outrigger Tournament hosted by the University of Hawaii, defeating EIVA foe Princeton and Erskine. In a showdown of ranked teams, Hawaii came out victorious, 3-1. Matt Szews leads the offensive attack for the Cardinals with 38 kills on the season. Connor Gross is first on the squad with 108 assists, while Nick Lavanchy paces the defense with 28 digs and Matt Walsh is first for BSU in blocks with 16.
ABOUT THE MASTODONS
Fort Wayne has faced four ranked opponents in the early stages of the season: No. 8 UC Irvine, No. 4 Long Beach State, No. 14 CSUN and No. 12 UCSB. The Mastodons went 0-4 in the matchups. Offensively, FW is led by Pelegrin Vargas' 42 kills and is averaging 3.23 kills per set. On the defensive side, Jack Carlson leads the Mastodons, averaging 2.15 digs per set and has amassed 28 digs on the season.
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
Thursday's match against Ball State will be broadcasted on ESPN 3, with live stats also available. Live stats, video and audio will be available for the Fort Wayne match. All information is located in the men's volleyball schedule page.
NEXT TIME OUT…
Saint Francis welcomes defending national champs No. 1 Ohio State to Loretto next Friday for the home opener at 7 p.m.
