LORETTO, PA- The Red Flash men's volleyball team will honor five seniors this weekend as they close out the regular season home schedule against George Mason and the University of Charleston.
 
Game Info.
Vs. George Mason @7 p.m.
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Vs. Charleston @ 4 p.m.
Live Stats
 
About the Patriots
With four conference games remaining, George Mason holds a spot in the EIVA as a top-four team, only losing three matches in conference play and seven games overall. Much like SFU, Mason has been strong on defense this season. The Patriots are top-10 in blocks per set and opponent hitting percentage. After dropping to third place in the last couple weeks, George Mason still sits atop in the conference in assists per set, digs per set, hitting percentage, kills per set and opponent hitting percentage. Following Friday's match, the next three matches will be crucial for seeding purposes as it takes on Penn State on Saturday before Harvard on Friday and Saturday the following week. Junior outside hitter Hayden Wagner leads the offensive attack with 327 kills on a .283 hitting clip. The next closest is junior Sam Greenslade with 176 kills on .278 hitting percentage. Wagner and redshirt sophomore Jack Reese commands the middle with 75 blocks apiece.
 
Series History
The Patriots currently hold the series advantage against the Red Flash, with a 38-16 record. Earlier this season, Saint Francis got the upper hand over George Mason with a thrilling five-set win in Fairfax, Va.
 
About the Golden Eagles
Despite a 1-9 record in conference play, Charleston has become known for its gritty resilient play during EIVA play. With a fairly young roster, the Golden Eagles are a grind-it-out type team who ranks last in the conference in majority of the offensive statistical categories but first in total blocks (200). If the Red Flash want to complete a season series sweet, they will have to slow down Max Senica, who leads the Golden Eagles with 162 kills on a .246 hitting percentage. He also man's the defense with 109 digs on a 1.58 digs per set average. Senior Eugene Stuart is second on the team in kills at 138 and is coming off back to back eight kill performances in the 0-2 sweep to NJIT. Junior Adriel Roberts is the catalyst in the middle ranking third in the conference with 82 blocks.
 
Series History
The Red Flash lead the all-time series, 6-2 against the Golden Eagles. Last matchup, SFU won in straight sets thanks to Michael Fisher's (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley (Pepperdine)) 17 kill performance.

The Cole Train
Senior Cole Thompson (Los Alamitos, Calif./Los Alamitos) is playing his best volleyball down the stretch. The Red Flash outside hitter is averaging 3.83 kills per set over his last four games to rank 14^th in the league in kills (162) and 18th in kills per set (2.19). Thompson is currently third on the team kills, kills per set, and service aces.
 
Defense Doing the Job
Saint Francis has been known for its offense attack and rightfully so as the Red Flash rank first in the league in four categories; kills, kills per set, service aces, and assists. However, it has been the defense that has triggered the success during conference play.  SFU is only allowing teams to hit .228 this season and .152 over the last two matches. Saint Francis ranks second in the league in digs at 675 and third in blocks with 180.
 
Saturday's Senior Day
Saint Francis will honor its five seniors on Saturday in Thompson, Patrick Bryan (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), Evan Feltz (Westerville, Ohio/St. Francis DeSales), Hayden Herc (Eden, N.Y./Eden) and Griffin Sangrey (Millersville, Pa./Penn Manor). In addition to Thompson's prowess, Bryan sits second on the team in kills (191) and service aces (22). Feltz has found the starting lineup in 11 matches and sits fourth on the team in kills (98). Herc has played in 22 of 24 matches this season, controlling the middle with 69 blocks. Sangrey played in every match this season as the go-to server in key situations.
 
For all the latest on Saint Francis men's volleyball, follow @RedFlashMVB on social media and visit sfuathletics.com.