Men’s Volleyball Hosts Alderson Broaddus and Mount Olive in Home Opener
Bobby Dragon
Flash Points:
- Saint Francis welcomes Alderson Broaddus on Friday and Mount Olive on Saturday.
- Both matches begin at 7 p.m.
- All of the action will be broadcasted on NEC Front Row
Loretto, Pa- The Saint Francis Men's Volleyball team will host Alderson Broaddus and Mount Olive this weekend for the home opener at DeGol Arena. Friday's match against Alderson Broaddus will begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday's match is also slated for 7 p.m.
About the Flash
Saint Francis is 2-2 on the young season, dropping a contest to No. 11 Cal State Northridge last Thursday, 3-1. The Red Flash bounced back the next day against No. 8 Stanford, to win in four sets, 3-1. That same night, Saint Francis took down host UC Santa Barbara in a four set match, 3-1 to improve their record to 2-1. Going into the last day of the California expedition, Saint Francis looked to knock off No. 2 Long Beach State but fell short in straight sets.
Offensive Player of the Week
Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) led the Flash with 52 kills, while
Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) and
Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) combined with 77 total kills over the four matches. Defensively, Freshman
Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West HS) led SFU with 25 digs and Redshirt Sophomore
Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) chipped in with 22 digs. Keith Keggerreis, who was named Defensive Player of the Week, also proved a spark on defense for the Flash with 16 blocks, while notching 8 blocks against UC Santa Barbara.
A trio of attackers is ranked in the top 5 in kills for the EIVA.
Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) is the conference leader with 52 kills along with a 3.47 kills per set average.
Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) is third with 39, while Braswell follows with 38 kills and ranks forth. Alu ranks second in the conference in digs with 25, while Koszelak ranks forth with 22 and Braswell is sixth with 21. Koszelak's 8.47 assists per set ranks first in the EIVA.
The Red Flash will look to feed off the DeGol Arena crowd this weekend, as they went 7-6 at home last season.
About the Battlers
Alderson Broaddus enters into Friday's matchup looking to start their season off on a strong note. The Battlers finished the season last year with a 6-16 record while being crowned the IVA Champions. Senior Myles Miller and Junior Timothy McIntosh are two players to watch for the Battlers. Miller led the team in points with 200, as well with blocks with 97. McIntosh contributed with a team high 144 digs.
Friday's matchup against Alderson Broaddus will be the second time both teams met up. Saint Francis holds a 1-0 record against the Battlers.
About the Trojans
Before coming to Loretto, Mount Olive will open its season up against Penn State on Friday. The Trojans finished last season as the runner-up in the Men's Volleyball Championship, posting a record of 18-10 overall and 14-4 in league play.
MOU returns three all-conference performers in Josh Donahue, Robert Poole, and Bret Rutledge. Poole appeared on the Bryan Ivie list as one of the nation's top opposite hitters, while Rutledge earned a spot on the Karch Kiraly list for top outside hitters. Poole led the team in kills with 317 as Rutledge contributed on the defensive side with 37 total blocks. Jeff Yasalonis is another player to watch for the trojans as he dished out 716 assists last season.
Mount Olive holds an 8-2 record against the Red Flash, as they defeated them 3-0 in the last meeting.
Follow Along
Both matches will be live streamed on NEC Front Row. Live stats will also be provided.
Next time out…
Saint Francis travels to the Land of Lincoln, as they will take on No. 11 Lewis University on Friday then travel to Chicago to face No. 7 Loyola-Chicago on Saturday. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
