Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (1-0) opened the season with a thriller, upsetting #7 Stanford (2-1) in five sets after trailing 0-2.
After beginning the match back and forth, Stanford pulled away after leading 9-8. The Cardinal finished the set on a 16-7 run to take it, 25-15.
Set two showed the Red Flash with a bit more life. After finding itself down 19-13, SFU climbed back into the set and cut the lead to four at 22-18. Stanford channeled the run and closed out the second set at 25-19.
The Red Flash began its turnaround in set three. With its back against the wall at 0-2, SFU jumped out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back. Stanford cut it to 11-10, then 17-16, but the Red Flash never squandered the lead and won 25-19.
Even without class in session, fans packed the gym and brought the noise in a great volleyball atmosphere. With momentum on its side, SFU only trailed in set four at 1-0. From there, the Red Flash led the rest of the way while seeing ties at 2-2, 13-13 and 14-14 and never leading by more than three. The set ended 25-23.
Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) started the fifth set by registering one of his career-high 29 kills from a Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) assist. The Red Flash stepped up and held a commanding lead at 9-4 in the shortened set. Stanford was looking for a run but never found it, only cutting it to 9-7. SFU jumped back out to a five-point lead and wrapped the set and match, 15-11.
Box Score Notes
· Freshman Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) registered 13 kills
· Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) had 40 assists
· BJ Blair (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) added 16 assists
· Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) seven digs
· Cole Carver (Hershey, PA/Hershey) had six block assists and a solo
· On top of Fisher's career-high, he added four block assists
Up next for the Red Flash is a quick turnaround, heading to Columbus, Ohio for a Thursday night contest with Ohio State at 7 p.m. (1/9).
