Flash Points

• The Red Flash open the season at the Kristen Dickmann Invitational
• SFU will start with Maryland-Eastern Shore on Friday and Navy and Akron on Saturday
• Saint Francis welcomes in five freshman to the 2017 squad

 
LORETTO, PA- Saint Francis volleyball opens the season this weekend with the Kristen Dickmann Invitational, hosted by the United States Naval Academy. The Red Flash will take on Maryland-Eastern Shore on Friday afternoon followed by host Navy on Saturday morning and Akron on Saturday afternoon.
 
ABOUT THE RED FLASH
Saint Francis was picked sixth in the Northeast Conference pre-season coaches' poll. The Red Flash, under second-year head coach Sara McMullen, welcome five freshman to their team in 2017 to offset the five seniors on the roster. They bring a wealth of athleticism and talent to an already deep squad as four of the five members of the class were named All-State during their high school career.
 
Last season, the Red Flash finished third in the NEC in digs, led by now-senior Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan). At the net, Sophia Esposito (Coraopolis, PA/Montour (Gardner-Webb)) finished fourth in the NEC in blocks. The offense sees a pair of 200-kill returners in Emily Marcinowski (Strongsville, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) and Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland).
 
ABOUT MARYLAND-EASTERN SHORE
MD-ES is coming off a solid 18-13 season that saw them go 10-2 in the MEAC and advancing to the MEAC semi-finals. Lucia Babic is back to lead the Hawks offense after recording a team best 256 kills a season ago. The Hawks return their top three offensive threats from a season ago as leading setter Ivana Blazevic who averaged nearly eight assists per set. This will be the fifth all-time meeting between the teams with the Red Flash taking three of the first four but the schools haven't met since 2007.
 
ABOUT NAVY
The host Midshipmen saw a big turnaround in 2016 going from 9-20 in 2015 to 20-9 in 2016 and making the Patriot League tournament. They return three of their top five attackers from last-year's 20-win team, led by Dorothy Murray and Katie Patrick, both of whom topped 150 kills and hit better than .240 last season. Setter Patricia Mattingly returns after she played 100 of Navy's 105 sets last season and fell just shy of 1,000 assists last season, settling for 958. Defensively, Navy averaged nearly two blocks per set and held opponents to a meager .158 hitting percentage. This will be the third-straight season the two teams have met, with Navy winning the previous two seasons, Navy has won 14 of the 16 all-time meetings.
 
ABOUT AKRON
This will be the first of two meetings between the Zips and Red Flash, with the teams also set to face-off as part of the Youngstown Invitational. Akron was picked to finish sixth in the Mid-American Conference's eastern division. Two of the top three attackers for the Zips return in 2017 led by Kayla Gwozdz, who led the way with 246 kills last year, but lost their top setter as they look to incorporate seven newcomers to the fold in 2017. In their last meeting, the Red Flash broke a 12-match losing streak to Akron in 2015  and will look to start a winning streak of their own against the Zips in 2017.
 
FOLLOW ALONG
Due to technical difficulties, Navy is unsure if video and stats will be available for the tournament. Check SFUAthletics.com for all links and follow @RedFlashVB on Twitter for updates and information.
 
LOOKING AHEAD
The Red Flash will stay on the road next weekend as they travel to Philadelphia for the Lafayette/Lehigh Invitational. SFU will take on Norfolk State and Lehigh on Friday before squaring off with Lafayette on Saturday.