Loretto, Pa.- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team had to grind through four tough sets to get back in the win column with a 3-1 win (23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-23) over McKendree Saturday afternoon at Degol Arena.
 
Saint Francis improved to 4-2 in nonconference action with the win. McKendree fell to 1-3 overall.
 
How It Happened
 
First Set

• Both teams traded point-for-point in the first set until the Bearcats built a 9-6 lead on three straight Red Flash errors.
• The Red Flash quickly responded back to tie the match at 10 before another back and forth battle kept the match tight.
• Late in the set, two McKendree kills helped pull a two-point lead and force SFU to call a timeout.
• Following the timeout, the Bearcats rallied off four-straight points to put away the set.
• Set Score: McKendree 25, SFU 23
• McKendree leads 1-0

 
Second Set

• SFU came out on fire in set two and put together a four-point run to lead 5-1.
• The Red Flash built its lead to six points at 10-4 behind two-straight aces from Patrick Bryan (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) and a Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) kill.
• The Bearcats regained its rhythm after a couple Red Flash errors to cut the lead to 13-11 and force SFU to call a timeout.
• A back and forth point exchange followed after the timeout before SFU gained momentum to pull ahead 23-19.
• SFU capped the set with a McKendree service error and a Fisher kill.
• Set Score: SFU 25, McKendree 20
• Matched tied 1-1

 
Third Set

• Much like the second set, SFU jumped out to an early 10-5 lead and forced McKendree to call a timeout.
• SFU managed to hold a five-point lead before McKendree closed the deficit by as much as three at 22-20.
• The Red Flash closed the set with back to back kills from Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) and Fisher.
• Set Score: SFU 25, McKendree 21
• SFU leads 2-1

 
Fourth Set

• SFU built momentum early in the set, leading 9-5 before the Bearcats stormed back to tie things at 10.
• The Red Flash scored four of the next five points to pull ahead by two points.
• SFU maintained its two point lead the rest of the way and closed out the set and match.
• Set Score: SFU 25, McKendree 23
• SFU wins 3-1

 
Game Notes

• Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) had a match-high 20 kills, marking his fifth straight game leading the team in kills.
• Patrick Bryan (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) added 11 kills and nine digs. He also finished with four aces.
• BJ Blair (Bridgewater, Pa./Bridgewater Raritan) dished out 38 assists while leading the team in digs with 12.
• Cole Carver (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) contributed defensively with four and a half of the teams 11.5 blocks
• Patrick Ross lead McKendree's offense with 18 kills on a .324 hitting percentage.

 
Up Next
The Red Flash will look to continue its winning ways on the road as they head to Columbus, Ohio to take on Ohio State University on Friday. The match is slated to start at 7 p.m.