Flash Points: 

• Saint Francis will play Norfolk State and Lehigh on Friday
• The Red Flash meet Lafayette on Saturday to close out the "Crosstown Invite"
• SFU plays host to Duquesne on Tuesday in the 2017 home opener

LIVE STATS (Norfolk State) | LIVE STATS (Lehigh) | LIVE STATS (Lafayette) | WATCH (Duquesne) | LIVE STATS (Duquesne)

LORETTO, PA- Coming off a big win over Akron at the Naval Academy, the Red Flash look to take that momentum into a three-match weekend in Philadelphia and their home opener on Tuesday. 

The Red Flash swept Akron on Saturday to close out the tournament behind 16 kills from Kelsey Roush (Johnstown, Pa./Richland) and eight from freshman Emily Pieper (Paonia, Colo./Paonia). The defense also forced Akron into 22 errors and a meager .119 hitting percentage. Meanwhile, the Red Flash hit .271 in the match, their highest of the tournament. The Flash will get a look at Norfolk State, who they will play in the Red Flash Classic as well as a pair of Patriot League foes in Lafayette and Lehigh. 

ABOUT THE SPARTANS
Norfolk State was picked to finish fifth in the MEAC Northern Division. The Red Flash will be their season opener and they are looking to replace the vast majority of their offense from a season ago. The Spartans are tasked to replace three of their top four attackers from last season, that trio accounted for 68 percent of their kills from a season ago. Senior Clarke Tyler is the leading returning attacker and will be relied upon heavily and will have to step up from the 1.35 kills per set she averaged last season. 

ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN HAWKS
Lehigh went 8-8 in the Patriot League last season, narrowly missing out on the Patriot League tournament. They went 13-17 overall last season, but are the polar opposite of Norfolk State as they bring back all but two players back from a season ago. Setter Megan Polak averaged over eight assists per set last season, she'll be setting up Jess Donaldson, who finished seventh in the Patriot League with 2.7 kills per set. 

ABOUT THE LEOPARDS
Lafayette was picked last in the Patriot League after a 4-24 season in 2016. They are 1-1 entering the weekend this season after sweeping Saint Peter's and being swept by LaSalle. Tori Smith has led the Leopards so far this season, averaging over 3.5 kills per set, after leading Lafayette in kills a season ago. 

ABOUT DUQUESNE
The Red Flash open at home against the Dukes on Tuesday. The Dukes enter the weekend at 0-3 on the season, but are picked to finish fifth in the Atlantic-10. The Dukes were led by Maria Mosbacher who led Duquesne with 31 kills and a .274 hit percentage in three matches so far this season and was named to the Hampton Inn All-Tournament Team. Duquesne swept the Red Flash last season as part of the Duquesne/Robert Morris tournament, this will be the first trip to DeGol Arena since the 2012 season. Tuesday night's game will air on NEC Front Row with Matt Popelka on the call. 

FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats will be available for all three matches this weekend in Philadelphia and video and stats will be available for Tuesday's match. All links are at the top of the page and on the volleyball schedule page. 

LOOKING AHEAD
After Tuesday's match, the Red Flash will wrap up the road portion of the non-con with the Youngstown State Invite on September 8th and 9th.