Men’s Volleyball Opens Season at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament Tomorrow
Bobby Dragon
Flash Points:
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The Saint Francis men's volleyball team opens the season at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament on Thursday.
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First match is set for 7 p.m. ET against California State Northridge University.
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All matches will have live stats.
LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team opens its 2018 season on Thursday at the UC Santa Barbara Tournament in Riverside, Calif. The Red Flash will play four matches over three days. On Thursday, SFU will play California State Northridge University at 7 p.m. On Friday, it will go up against Stanford at 1 p.m and UC Santa Barbara at 11 p.m. On Saturday, Saint Francis faces Long Beach State at 5:30 p.m. All matches are set for Eastern Standard Time
Saint Francis finished last season with a 16-15 overall record and a 10-4 record in conference play. SFU ended the 2017 campaign on a seven-game winning streak, making another appearance in the EVIA Championship Game. The Red Flash return three players that recorded over 100 kills, including All-EIVA honorees Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)), Stephen Braswell, and Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen). Fisher and Braswell finished last season with 325 and 308 kills, respectively.
Keith Kegerreis (Chambersburg, Pa./Chambersburg), returns for his senior year as the team's middle hitter after earning 27 starts in the team's 29 matches last season. The junior finished with 144 kills and a team leading 83 blocks to help boost the Red Flash on both ends of the net.
Brandon Buck and BJ Blair also return to help pace Saint Francis' offense. Buck ranked eighth for the Flash with 44 kills and a team-high 10 kills against Charleston last February. He looks to make a big contribution for the Red Flash on offense this season. Blair looks to also make a contribution, as he recorded 16 assists last season with five of those against No. 1 ranked Ohio State. Freshman Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South High School) comes into Saint Francis looking to make an impact as a setter.
The Red Flash was picked forth in this year's EIVA Preseason Coaches' Poll, taking home 40 points.
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
Live stats will be available for all matches on our website (http://www.sfuathletics.com/schedule.aspx?path=mvball). UC Santa Barbara is currently working on trying to provide live video which would also be linked to our website.
NEXT TIME OUT…
Following the matches in California, Saint Francis will come home to Degol Arena to take on Alderson Broaddus on Friday, Jan. 12th and Mount Olive on Saturday, Jan 13th. Both will begin at 7 p.m.
