LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis wraps up the road portion of the regular season this Friday night when they travel to Moon Township to take on in-state and Northeast Conference rival Robert Morris.
 
The match is pivotal for the NEC playoff race, currently Robert Morris sits at 7-4 in the NEC and 13-14 overall while Saint Francis is a game back in the standings at 12-12 overall and 6-5 in the NEC. The Colonials defeated the Red Flash in four sets on September 22^nd in Loretto.
 
ABOUT THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis is coming off a split last weekend at Fairleigh Dickinson and Sacred Heart and have split each of the last three weekends. The Red Flash continue to lead the NEC in digs and digs per set, averaging over 17.5 digs per set. They are led by Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) who is the NEC leader and 7^th in the NCAA at 5.85 digs per set. She had 34 digs against RMU back in September.
 
Offensively, the Red Flash continue to be led by Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) and Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan). Roush ranks second in the NEC at nearly four kills per set, while Marcinowski ranks seventh in the NEC. Both seniors rank in the top-10 in SFU history in kills, ranking 9^th and 10^th, respectfully. When the two teams met back in September, Marcinowski led the attack with 16 kills while Roush and Emily Pieper (Paonia, Colo./Paonia) added 13 kills each.
 
ABOUT THE COLONIALS
 
The Colonials are one of the hottest teams in the conference, winners of four straight to even their record at 13-13 and move into fourth place in the NEC at 7-4. The Colonials have done it with an efficient offense that leads the NEC with a .203 hitting percentage. RMU has also done it with balance, three players have recorded over 200 kills on the season. Freshman Emma Granger leads the way with just over a three-kill per set average and does so on a .362 hitting percentage, good for second in the NEC. Maria Alfano also has a hitting percentage north of .300 and sits third in conference. Alfano had 14 kills to lead the Colonials against SFU while Granger added 12.
 
Defensively, the Colonials are led by Granger on the block, who has totaled 98 on the year, good for just over one per set. Allie Yurkovich leads the team at 3.6 digs per set, but the Colonials are defense by committee in that regard with six players averaging over two digs per set.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Friday's match will be streamed on NEC Front Row and Robert Morris will also provide live stats. Links are available on the volleyball schedule page.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash close out the regular season at home as they welcome in Central Connecticut and Bryant for a pivotal NEC weekend. The Blue Devils are up first on Friday night with a 7 p.m. first serve.