Cambridge, MA- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team gets back in the win column with an impressive five-set comeback win on the road at Harvard Friday night.
 
The Red Flash improves to 12-11 on the season and 6-3 in the EIVA. Harvard drops to 6-12 overall and 5-5 in conference play.
 
Rumbaugh's Reaction
"It was nice to see that we didn't fold once our backs were against the wall," said head coach Mike Rumbaugh.  "I thought our bench and defense made a big difference down the stretch. We had a lot of guys step up and play big roles tonight."
 
First Set

• After trading points in the early going of the set, Harvard built the first multi-point lead of the match at 11-8 on three-straight Red Flash errors.
• Another three-point burst gave Harvard a 15-11 lead and forced SFU to call timeout. Four Red Flash errors helped Harvard in the run.
• Following the timeout, the Crimson continued to build onto its lead as the next seven of 10 points went in their favor. SFU forced to use it last timeout down 22-15.  
• The Red Flash never pulled within less than five for the rest of the set as Harvard took the frame.
• Set Score: HARV 25- SFU 18- HARV leads 1-0

Second Set

• Just like the first set, both teams traded point for point early until three Red Flash errors propelled the Crimson to its first multi-point lead of the set at 9-7.
• Harvard slowly built its lead to five at 16-11 and rattled off three of the next five points to hold a six-point lead.
• The closest Saint Francis got to Harvard late in the set was five points at 24-19, but the Crimson won the set on a Red Flash service error.
• Set Score: HARV 25- SFU 19- HARV leads 2-0

Third Set

• Harvard took an early three-point edge on an attack error, 7-4.
• The Crimson managed to sustain a two to three-point lead until a quick SFU burst capped by a Harvard attack error, tied the set at 11.
• Harvard managed to pull away to another three-point lead at 17-14 and forced SFU to call a timeout.
• Out of the timeout, SFU rallied on a 6-0 run to led 20-17 and swung the momentum on their side. An Evan Feltz (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) ace and two kills from Joshua Blair (Matterson. Illnois/Marian Catholic ) and Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) helped the Red Flash on the rally.
• The Red Flash closed the set on back to back points thanks to two Crimson errors.
• Set Score: SFU 25- HARV 19- HARV leads 2-1  

Fourth Set

• Saint Francis got off to a better start in the fourth set with a 10-5 lead, forcing  Harvard to a timeout.
• The Red Flash continued to tackle onto lead after the timeout as a kill from Feltz and Josh Blair helped jolt to a 17-11 lead.
• Leading 22-16, Harvard gathered five straight points to cut the lead to three and force SFU to a timeout.
• Harvard continued to chip at the lead as they brought it within one at 24-23, but Patrick Bryan (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) ended the set with a kill.
• Set Score: SFU 25- HARV 23- Match tied 2-2

Fifth Set

• Both teams traded points until a 5-0 run assisted the Red Flash to a 7-4 lead and forced Harvard to talk things over.
• SFU continued to apply pressure until the Crimson battled back to put the set within one at 10-9.
• The Red Flash broke away to another three-point lead but Harvard delayed the Red Flash's winning point with a kill, but a service error halted the comeback and ended the match for the Crimson.
• Set Score: SFU 16- HARV 14- SFU wins 3-2

Game Notes

• Thompson, J.Blair, and Bryan led the Red Flash with nine kills apiece. Thompson hit .211, Blair hit .471, and Bryan hit .278 for the match.
• Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) added seven kills while Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South) also chipped in with seven.
• Feltz finished the match with six kills and a match-high three aces.
• BJ Blair (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) managed the offense with a match-high 51 assists to go along with two blocks. He also managed to tally two aces.
• Cole Carver (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) had five total blocks to pair with six kills
• The Red Flash are now in third place in the EIVA behind Penn State and Princeton.

 
Next Up
The Red Flash will close out its road swing at Sacred Heart tomorrow for a 3 p.m. first serve.