Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (3-6, 0-0 EIVA) begins its conference slate this weekend, hosting NJIT (5-3, 0-1 EIVA) Friday at 7 pm and #11 Princeton (5-4, 3-0 EIVA) Saturday at 4 pm.
Scouting NJIT
The Highlanders have begun 2020 strong, starting 5-2 before losing their first conference match against Princeton. The loss to the Tigers also snapped NJIT's four-match win streak. SFU is 2-3 against common opponents this season while NJIT is 3-2. NJIT has overwhelmed opponents in kills (333-283), assists (317-261) and service aces (48-33).
The offensive charge for the Highlanders is led by a trio of players with 70+ kills: Jr. Alvaro Gimeno (90), So. Jens Feldhus (78) and Fr. Julian Meissner (74). The three have combined to average nearly nine kills per set. The main assist-getter for NJIT is setter Roque Nido, who has totaled 269 and almost 10 per set.
Defensively, NJIT has five players with 30+ digs, including Nido, who leads the team (43). Freshman Martin de Chavarria also leads with four solo blocks and has registered a total of 28 blocks, good for second on the team.
Series History: SFU leads, 9-7
The Red Flash and Highlanders have met twice each season since 2011 with the exception of 2012. The teams have split the past four matches and SFU has won the last three of five. Last season, NJIT beat SFU in New Jersey, but SFU took down the Highlanders in Loretto, a 3-0 sweep that saw Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) lead the match with 19 kills.
Scouting Princeton
This week, Princeton sits at #11 in the AVCA National Rankings. The Tigers have spent every week in the rankings since the beginning of the season. Princeton began the year with three losses on the west coast, but won four of the last five including three EIVA matches (Charleston twice, NJIT). The Tigers will spend Friday in State College to take on #10 Penn State before coming to Loretto on Saturday.
This season, Princeton has been out-killed by opponents (366-392) and out-assisted (338-369). The Tigers also have nine more errors. On defense, Princeton has totaled more block assists and total blocks than its competition.
Offensively, junior George Huhmann leads the team with 103 kills, followed by Parker Dixon (89) and Jerod Nelsen (82). Nelsen leads the trio with a .348 attack percentage. Contributing the assists for the Tigers is Joe Kelly, who has 293 of Princeton's 338 total assists.
On defense, Kelly also has 50 digs, good for first on the team. Nico Posivak trails closely with 42 digs. Senior Greg Luck also leads Princeton with six solo blocks and 33 block assists. Overall, the Tigers have five guys with double digit block assists and three guys with 20+.
Series History: Princeton leads, 14-12
These teams have met at least twice a season dating back to 2008. The Tigers are on a two-match win streak against the Red Flash after taking the final two of three matchups in 2019. The lone SFU win last season came in Loretto, 3-1. Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) also led that match with 18 kills.
Conference Play Begins
Heading into the weekend, Saint Francis and Penn State are the only two teams in the EIVA that have not played a conference match yet. Both teams will get their first shot on Friday, as Penn State hosts Princeton while the Red Flash hosts NJIT. Princeton has an early 3-0 record and is only one of two teams to have played more than one EIVA match (Charleston, 0-3).
Finding a Win Streak
Last weekend, SFU picked up its first sweep of the season, taking down St. Francis Brooklyn. The Red Flash will look to build off that performance in order to take down two strong conference opponents for some control of the EIVA early in the schedule.
EIVA Leaderboards
Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) continues to sit atop leaderboards in conference statistics. He currently ranks first in kills per set (4.07) and second in kills (122). The 4.07 kills per set also ranks fourth nationally.
