LORETTO, Pa.- The Saint Francis men's volleyball team falls in its regular season finale, 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 21-25, 25-21, 12-15) to NJIT on Saturday night at NJIT Wellness and Events Center.
 
The Red Flash conclude the regular season with a 15-13 overall record and 9-5 EIVA record. NJIT will close out its season 10-14 overall and 5-9 in the conference.
 
First Set

• After trading points early in the set, the Red Flash built the first three-point lead of the match at 10-7 on three-straight points which included kills from Evan Feltz (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales) and Hayden Herc (Eden, N.Y./Eden).
• Another three-point burst gave SFU a 14-8 lead and force NJIT to call timeout. Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) had two kills in the run.
• Another kill by Fisher gave the Red Flash its largest lead of the set at 17-11.
• The Highlanders never pulled within less than five the rest of the set as Saint Francis took the frame.
• Set Score: SFU 25, NJIT 18- SFU leads 1-0

 Second Set

• NJIT strung together the first run of the second set with three in a row to lead 7-3.
• The Red Flash stormed back with five of the next seven points, including back to back kills from Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Williamsville South).
• Tied 9-9, both teams would exchange point for point until three-straight errors and an ace helped the Highlanders to a 16-13 lead.
• The Red Flash wouldn't go away as SFU took the next three points off errors to tie the set at 16-16.
• The rest of the way would feature another back and forth point exchange, but a kill and service error turned the tide for the Highlanders and enabled them to take the set.
• Set Score: NJIT 25, SFU 23- Match tied 1-1

 Third Set

• The Highlanders grab ahold of the third set with a five-point lead at 12-7.
• After a Red Flash timeout, SFU managed to close the gap to four at 12-8, but NJIT rallied once again with the next three points to lead 17-11.
• Saint Francis eventually pulled back within one at 20-19, but NJIT finished off the set with back to back points from Alvaro Gimeno kill and an attack error by Saint Francis.  
• Set Score: NJIT 25, SFU 21- NJIT leads 2-1

 Fourth Set

• SFU sped out in front with a four-point rally to lead 11-7. And force NJIT to call timeout.
• The Red Flash never trailed in the set after its early 2-1 deficit. NJIT managed to tie the set twice, but Saint Francis always responded to retake the lead.
• NJIT made things interesting by pulling within three points at 18-15, but Saint Francis pressed the petal to the metal and scored the next seven of 12 points to win the set.

•  Set Score: SFU 25, NJIT 21- Match tied 2-2

Fifth Set

• Both teams traded point for point on several occasions to swing the lead back and forth in the fifth frame.
• Fisher put the Red Flash ahead 8-7 with a kill, but NJIT fired back with two points in a row to lead 9-8.
• The Highlanders eventually jumped out to a four-point lead and sustained it the rest of the way.
• Set Score: NJIT 15, SFU 12- SFU wins 3-2

Game Notes

• Fisher and Feltz were heavily featured in the match both offensively and defensively for the Red Flash. Fisher had a match-high 19 kills with a .214 hitting percentage. He also had six aces and eight digs. Feltz finished with 11 kills and nine digs.
• Graziano joined Fisher and Feltz in double-digits with 10 kills.
• Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) made some nice defensive plays to finsh with 9 digs.
• B. Blair had 40 assists for the second straight night. He also added seven digs and one block.
• As it stands, the Red Flash will enter in to the EIVA Tournament as the No. 4 seed and take on No. 1 Princeton in the semifinal round.

 
Up Next
 
The Red Flash will gear up for the EIVA tournament next week as they take on tournament host Princeton on Thursday at 8 p.m.