Saint Francis University Athletics

The Red Flash Head East for Two EIVA Matches

3/28/2018 12:07:00 PM

Flash Points:

• Saint Francis visits Sacred Heart and Harvard for two EIVA matches
• Thursday's match is set for 7 p.m. and Saturday's match is slated for 4 p.m.
• Live stats and video will be provided for both matches.

 
 
Loretto, Pa.- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team heads east to take on Sacred Heart and Harvard for a pair of EIVA matches this weekend. Thursday's match is set for 7 p.m., and Saturday's match is slated for 4 p.m.
 
Saint Francis, led by head coach Mike Rumbaugh, enters the weekend with an 8-15 overall record and is 3-5 in conference play after dropping two three set matches against Ohio State and Penn State last weekend. The Flash currently sit sixth in the EIVA.
 
Dynamic Duo
Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern) and Brandon Buck (Baden, Pa./Ambridge) rank in the top five in the EIVA in total kills. Braswell sits second with 241 kills as Buck follows his teammate in third with 234 kills. The duo has contributed with 475 of the teams 895 kills on the season.
 
About the Pioneers
Sacred Heart seeks its first conference win as they currently hold a 4-11 overall record and are 0-8 in the conference. The Pioneers split its matches last weekend as they lost to Harvard in four sets then won a three set match to Erskine.  
 
Last meeting in February, the Flash took down Sacred Heart in four sets as Shawn Tishcler led the Pioneers with 11 kills while Joshua Ayzenberg contributed with 16 digs on defense.
 
Emerson Waumans paces the Pioneers offense with 138 kills and averages 2.76 kills per set on the season. Ayzenberg leads SHU with 166 digs and leads the EIVA in digs per set with 3.02. Taylor Bloomquist is third in the conference with a hitting percentage of .343 and blocks per set of 1.08.
 
About the Crimsons
Harvard is 7-11 overall and 6-2 in EIVA play after winning its last two matches ups against Sacred Heart and Alderson Broaddus. The Crimsons currently sit third in the conference.
 
In both wins, Brad Gretch led the way for the Crimson with 19 kills and hit .489. Matthew Ctvrtlik dished out 34 assists and added 11 digs over the weekend.
 
Gretch lead the Crimsons on the season with 139 kills and averages 3.548 kills per set. Marko Kostich has a team-leading 366 assists, while Trevor Dow leads the squad with 68 blocks.
 
Series History
Saint Francis leads the all-time series against Sacred Heart, 18-2, and is tied with Harvard, 10-10. SFU won both its matches in four sets against SHU and Harvard earlier this season. 
 
Follow Along
Live stats and video will be provided for both matches this weekend.
 
Next Time Out…
Saint Francis will continue as road warriors as they head south to take on George Mason and University of Charleston for a pair of EIVA matches.  Both matches are slated to start at 7 p.m.