Men’s Volleyball Travels to Ohio State, Then Returns Home Against Queens-Charlotte
Bobby Dragon
Men's Volleyball Travels to Ohio State, Then Returns Home Against Queens-Charlotte
Flash Points-
• Saint Francis travels to Columbus to take on No. 3 Ohio State on Thursday
• The Red Flash will open its home stretch on Friday vs. Queens University of Charlotte
• Thursday's match will begin at 7 p.m. Friday's match will start approximately at 8:30 p.m.
• Live stats and video will be provided for both matches.
Loretto, Pa- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team will travel to Columbus, Ohio to take on the reigning two-time national champions Ohio State Buckeyes on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Flash will then travel back home to Loretto to begin its eight game home stand against the Queens University of Charlotte at 8:30 p.m. on Friday.
About The Flash
The Red Flash enters the week with a 4-4 overall record, as they dropped two games this past week to ranked Lewis University and Loyola-Chicago. Saint Francis currently sits in third place in the EIVA standings.
Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) and
Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) led the Flash on the weekend with 31 kills combined, while Braswell contributed on the defensive side with 17 digs.
Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) helped dish out 31 assists on the offensive side.
Entering the week,
Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos),
Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern), and
Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) currently led the EIVA in kills as Thompson sits on top with 81. Braswell follows with 69, while Buck trails in third with 68.
Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) ranks in first with 210 assists. On the defensive side, Braswell holds the throne in digs with 51 as
Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West HS) trails in forth with 41. Keith Kegerrieis is the leader in blocks with 30.
About the Buckeyes
No. 3 Ohio State is 3-2 to start the season as they fell to UCLA this past weekend, 3-2. The Buckeyes opened the season at home defeating North Greenville in three straight sets while also taking a 3-1 set game from Stanford. They dropped a close one to BYU in 5 sets but managed to bounce back against USC to win in four sets.
The Buckeyes are led by Senior Nicolas Szerszen who leads the team with 81 kills, 35 digs and a 4.05 kill per set average. Szerszen is currently ranked second in the nation in kills. Redshirt Junior Blake Leeson has a team high 16 blocks with a 0.76 blocks per set average. Junior setter Sanil Thomas has dished out 218 assists on the season as he ranks eighth in the nation in assists.
About the Royals
Queens University of Charlotte will look to snap its three game losing streak as they currently sit 1-4 on the young season. The Royals dropped a pair of matches to Coke College and Mount Olive this past week.
Sophomore Gregory Esquivel leads the Royals as their king of kills with 38 along with a 2.24 kills per set average. Junior Marco Vecellio follows in second as the crown prince with 32 kills. On the defensive side, Conner Nagaki leads the team with 49 digs and a 3.50 dig per set average while Aleksander Perisic posts a team high 19 blocks with a 1.73 block per set average.
Series History
Saint Francis trails the all-time series against Ohio State, 1-29, and meets Queens University of Charlotte for the first time in program history. SFU fell to OSU 1-3 in their last meeting.
Follow Along
Live Stats and video will be provided for both matches. Information can be found in the men's volleyball schedule page.
Next Time Out…
Saint Francis will host Fort Wayne and Ball State next weekend with both games slated for a 7 p.m. start time. Both games will be provided with live stats and video.
