Loretto, Pa.- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team continues its EIVA conference slate with a pair of home matches this weekend. The Red Flash will take on NJIT Friday evening before welcoming in first place Princeton on Saturday afternoon.
 
Game Info.
Friday, Mar. 1 (7 p.m. ET)
vs. NJIT
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Saturday, Mar. 2 (4 p.m. ET)
vs. Princeton
Watch | Live Stats
 
About the Red Flash
Saint Francis currently sits 9-6 overall on the season and 3-2 in the EIVA after the upset win over #13 George Mason last Sunday. The Red Flash have been playing some impressive volleyball in its last seven sets, winning in complete sets to Charleston on Friday before taking down #13 George Mason 3-1 on Saturday. EIVA Offensive Player of the Week honoree Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) earns his second Player of the Week honors after completing 37 kills on a .329 hitting percentage. Prime performer Cole Carver (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) also stepped up by knocking down 12 blocks on a 1.71 blocks per set average. 10 of his 12 blocks came in the win over #13 George Mason on Sunday.
 
Fisher leads the team with 215 total kills followed by redshirt junior Patrick Bryan (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) with 141. Senior Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) is not far behind with 98 recorded kills. Setter BJ Blair (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) is the main source of assists for the Red Flash with 540 recorded on the season thus far. Bryan has 18 service aces on the season leading the Red Flash. Defensive efforts are controlled by libero Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) who has 89 total digs. Blair, Thompson, Fisher, and Bryan round out the rest of the defense, Blair with 81 digs, Thompson with 57, Bryan with 52, and Fisher with 52. The Red Flash have a strong presence defensively at the net with middle hitter Carver leading the team with 54 total blocks. Middle hitter Herc is close behind with 51 blocks, Fisher and Blair are next, each with 29 total blocks.
 
About the Highlanders
NJIT is currently on a three-game losing streak to put them at 4-7 overall and 0-3 in EIVA play. Before dropping its last three games, the Highlanders won three straight matches via sweep, with its last victory coming over Kean on Feb. 11. Last weekend, the Highlanders fell 3-1 to Sacred Heart on Friday and 3-2 to Harvard on Saturday. Sophomore Alvaro Gimeno commanded the Highlanders offense in both of it loses, leading with 10 kills on 40 attempts against the Pioneers and 18 kills on 42 attempts against the Crimsons.
 
Gimeno, the 2018 EIVA Rookie of the Year, averages a team leading 2.76 kills per set with 105 kills. Junior Piotr Namiotko follows closely behind at 2.68 kills per set and 91 kills on the season. The man in the middle, Luca Berger currently sits atop of the conference with 1.23 blocks per set on a team high 43 blocks. 
 
Series History
The Highlanders currently hold the series advantage against the Red Flash, with a 27-22 record. In the last matchup, NJIT got the upper hand over the Red Flash with a 3-0 win at DeGol Arena.
 
About the Tigers
The Princeton Tigers has shown dominance in its early stretch of conference matches, holding a 5-0 record in the EIVA and 7-7 overall.  Its 5-0 record notches first place in the conference and one of the best starts for the program. Just the Red Flash. the Tigers have faced a challenging non-league schedule this season, battling six ranked opponents early on. Its most impressive performance came against #12 Cal State Northridge in a five-set thriller that came down to the final two points of the match. 
 
Princeton returns an All-American in George Huhmann, as well as 2018 EIVA All-Tournament Team honoree Greg Luck and former All-EIVA selection Parker Dixon. Dixon is the anchor for the Tiger offensive, sitting third in the conference with 182 kills, 3.79 kills per set, and .322 hitting percentage. Huhmann is also in the top-five in the same categories with 152 kills, 3.10 kills per set, and .311 hitting percentage. Luck is another contributor to the Tigers success, sitting first in the conference with 24 aces on a 0.48 aces per set average. He also leads the team in total digs with 36.
 
Series History
Saint Francis trails Princeton 13-36 in the all-time series, but won the last matchup 3-2 at home.


For all the latest on Saint Francis men's volleyball, follow @RedFlashMVB on social media and visit sfuathletics.com.