Flash Points:

• Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) led the Red Flash offense and defense with 14 kills and 12 digs.
• Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) recorded 9 digs along with 31 assists.
• Hayden Herc (Eden, N.Y./Eden) helped contribute defensively with 6 blocks.
• Saint Francis takes on in-state rival Penn State next Friday at 7 p.m. to open EIVA play.

 
 
Loretto, Pa.- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team battled strong in its match with Ball State on Saturday night at DeGol Arena, but the Cardinals rallied to defeat the Red Flash. Ball State won 26-24, 21-25, 25-19, and 25-19.

Saint Francis drops to 5-7 after the loss, while Ball State improves to 5-5.
 
Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) paced the Red Flash offense with 14 kills while also providing on the defensive side with a team high 12 digs. Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) contributed with 9 digs and dished out 31 assists. Hayden Herc (Eden, N.Y./Eden) holding his own as he provided the defense with 6 blocks.
 
 
Set One
The Cardinals open the first set with some momentum until the Red Flash battled back and tied things up at 7 with a Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) kill. The Flash would jump out to its biggest lead of the match 22-17, and force Ball State to burn its first timeout. Out of the timeout, BSU would start chipping away at SFU lead and eventually tie things up at 24. Two SFU attack errors would allow BSU to go on and win the first set, 26-24.
 
Set Two
After a tightly contested first set, both teams would trade point-for-point through the first 14 points to find themselves tied at 14-14. SFU would gain some momentum with a 4-1 run to force Ball State to call a timeout. BSU would keep things close out of the timeout but SFU would go on another 4-1 run and win the set, 25-21.
 
Set Three
The Red Flash kept the third set within reach until the Cardinals went on a 7-2 run to hold a 19-14 advantage. The Flash could not recover; as the Cardinals would go on to win the third set, 25-19.
 
Set Four
The forth-set saw ten ties in the opening 14 points with 10 lead changes in total. Ball State would eventually go on 7-3 run and force SFU to call its last time out of the forth set. The Cardinals held their momentum the rest of the way to win the set, 25-19.
 
Saint Francis will take on in-state rival Penn State next Saturday at 7 p.m. to open EIVA play.