Loretto, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (3-8, 0-2 EIVA) fell in five sets to #11 Princeton (6-5, 4-1 EIVA) on Friday night after leading the match, 2-1.

Set One

·         Both teams came out strong, trading points and seeing back and forth scoring until Princeton took the game's first two-point lead (12-10).

·         The Tigers caught a stride and used a 11-4 run to reach a lead of seven (21-14).

·         SFU made a late push in the set to cut the Tigers lead to four, but it wasn't enough as Princeton finished the Red Flash by six.

·         Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) and Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Willamsville South) each registered three kills and Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) and Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) each added two.

·         Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) picked up 11 assists.

·         Final Score: #11 Princeton 25, SFU 19 (Princeton leads 1-0).

Set Two

·         SFU jumped out to an early 5-1 lead after a Joshua Blair (Matterson. Illnois/Marian Catholic) service ace and a few Princeton errors.

·         The Red Flash maintained a lead and reached its largest gap at 13-8 before Princeton used its own run to even the set at 14.

·         Princeton continued its run and eventually reached a lead of 18-15.

·         The Red Flash channeled the Tigers run and tied the set at 22 apiece.

·         With three points to go, the teams saw ties at 23 and 24, then SFU scored the final two points and won the set on a huge team block.

·         Fisher and Graziano each had two kills in the set.

·         SFU tallied 10 digs in the frame.

·         Final Score: SFU 26, #11 Princeton 24 (Tied 1-1)

Set Three

·         The teams traded blows to 3-3 again, then each team used a 3-0 run to meet back up at six.

·         From there, neither team saw a lead more than two until SFU went up 15-12.

·         The Red Flash continued to add to its lead with kills by Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) and Joshua Blair (Matterson. Illnois/Marian Catholic), reaching five at 19-14.

·         The deficit forced a Princeton timeout, and after the timeout, the teams continued to trade points until the Red Flash finished the set out by eight.

·         Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) picked up five kills in the set while Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) added three.

·         Szwabinsky contributed 13 assists.

·         Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) and Fisher each made three digs.

·         Final Score: SFU 25, #11 Princeton 17 (SFU leads, 2-1).

Set Four

·         SFU jumped out to a 5-3 lead and held it until Princeton tied it at 7.

·         The teams continued the trend of exchanging points, staying within two of each other for the entire rest of the set.

·         Tied at 23, Princeton took the lead but a service error allowed the Red Flash to nod it at 24.

·         The teams also saw ties at 25-31 before a Tigers kill and Red Flash error allowed Princeton to take the set.

·         Fisher picked up six kills in the set, and Liprando added three.

·         Szwabinsky added 11 more assists.

·         Fisher and Alu each had three digs.

·         Final Score: #11 Princeton 33, SFU 31 (Tied 2-2)

Set Five

·         Princeton took an early 3-0 lead, but SFU immediately tied it at three.

·         Princeton took the lead back and began to pull away, reaching a lead of 11-4.

·         SFU and Princeton traded points for the rest of the set, and the Tigers won by five.

·         Fisher had two more kills and Szwabinsky had three more assists.

·         Final Score: #11 Princeton 15, SFU 10 (Princeton wins, 3-2).

Box Score Notes

·         Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the match with 18 kills.

·         Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS), Brandon Dunz (Lake View, NY/Frontier Senior High School) and Christian Graziano (Williamsville, N.Y./Willamsville South) each had eight kills.

·         Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) led the match with 41 assists.

·         Fisher also had nine digs, and Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) added six.

·         Dunz had a match-high seven block assists.

·         Kills were 50-43 in favor of SFU.

·         SFU also had five more assists than Princeton (45-40).

·         The Red Flash totaled 12 team blocks compared to six from the Tigers.

·         Princeton hit .145 while SFU hit .133

Up next for the Red Flash is a weekend trip to New England, where they will take on EIVA foes Harvard and Sacred Heart on Friday night (2/21) and Saturday afternoon (2/22).