Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (3-7, 0-1 EIVA) dropped its first conference match to NJIT (6-3, 1-1 EIVA) on Friday night, 3-1.
Set One
· The Red Flash and Highlanders traded points to begin the match. It was quickly 3-3 before NJIT used a quick run to extend its lead to 10-5.
· The Highlanders continued their run, eventually reaching a lead of eight at 15-7.
· Three unforced NJIT errors and kills by Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) and Joshua Blair (Matterson. Illnois/Marian Catholic) allowed the Red Flash to claw back into the set, cutting the Highlanders lead to four at 18-14.
· For the rest of the set, the teams traded points, and NJIT won it by seven.
· Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Willamsville South) led the Red Flash with three kills in the frame. Blair and Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) each added two.
· Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) picked up seven assists.
· Final Score: NJIT 25, SFU 18 (NJIT leads 1-0)
Set Two
· Once again, the set began with back and forth action. No team held a lead more than two points until the score was 7-4 in favor of the Red Flash.
· SFU continued to hold onto its 4-6 point lead for the majority of the second set.
· At 16-11, NJIT put together a run to cut into SFU's lead at 17-16.
· The set saw three one-point deficits in a row for the Highlanders before they were able to tie it at 20.
· NJIT took its first lead of the set at 22-21.
· After NJIT went up 24-23, SFU retook the lead 25-24 after a kill by Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley).
· The teams traded a long final rally before Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) and Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Willamsville South) came up with a block and a set win.
· Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the set with seven kills and Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) added two.
· Szwabinsky also added nine assists.
· Final Score: SFU 26, NJIT 24 (Tied 1-1)
Set Three
· The set began 3-3 for the third time in a row and continued to stay within two points until SFU took a 10-7 lead.
· SFU held onto its lead until NJIT tied the set at 13.
· NJIT took a two-point lead at 17-15, and pulled away to win by six.
· Four players each had two kills for the Red Flash in the set (Fisher, J. Blair, Dunz, Graziano).
· Szwabinsky continued to add to his assist total with eight.
· Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) registered three digs in the set and reached six total.
· Final Score: NJIT 25, SFU 19 (NJIT leads 2-1)
Set Four
· NJIT looked to close SFU out in the fourth and jumped out to a 5-2 lead.
· The Highlanders continued to extend the lead and SFU saw its deficit reach 11-5.
· NJIT held a 5-6 point lead while the teams traded points.
· After taking a 22-15 lead, NJIT scored three of the final four points to win by nine.
· Fisher led the set with five kills.
· Szwabinsky had four assists and Joseph Koszelak (North Tonawanda, N.Y./St. Joseph's Collegiate Institute) added three.
· Final Score: NJIT 25, SFU 16 (NJIT wins 3-0).
Box Score Notes
· Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the match with 16 kills. Joshua Blair (Matterson. Illnois/Marian Catholic), Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) and Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Willamsville South) each added five.
· Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) led the match with 28 assists.
· Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) had a team-high seven digs.
· Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) tied the match-high with five block assists.
· Kills were 47-35 in favor of NJIT.
· NJIT has 44 assists compared to 32 for SFU.
· Attack percentages: NJIT .330, SFU .135.
Up next for the Red Flash is another home conference match, hosting #11 Princeton tomorrow (2/15) at 4 pm.
