Cambridge, Mass. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (3-9, 0-3 EIVA) fell in a five-set slugfest to Harvard (9-3, 4-1 EIVA) on Friday night.

Set One

·         Both teams came out strong, exchanging points until Harvard jumped out by three (6-3).

·         Harvard looked to extend its lead, but SFU steadily kept the set within four.

·         SFU was able to cut the lead to one at 12-11, but Harvard used a quick run to go up 16-12.

·         The Red Flash comeback attempt fell short, and Harvard took the set by six.

·         Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) led the Red Flash with four kills and Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) picked up 11 assists.

·         Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) added three kills.

·         Final Score: Harvard 25, SFU 19 (Harvard leads 1-0).

Set Two

·         Again, the match started 3-3, with no lead more than one until SFU went up 8-6.

·         SFU looked to pull away, but the Crimson kept the set within two.

·         The Red Flash finally extended the lead past two at 20-17, forcing a Harvard timeout.

·         SFU finished the set on a 7-5 run to take the set by two.

·         Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) led SFU with five kills in the set and Fisher added three.

·         Szwabinsky contributed an impressive 15 assists.

·         Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) had four digs.

·         Final Score: SFU 25, Harvard 23 (Tied 1-1).

Set Three

·         SFU jumped out 4-0.

·         The Red Flash kept its lead until Harvard tied it at 13.

·         From there, the teams exchanged points until Harvard went up by three, forcing an SFU timeout (18-15)

·         Harvard stopped any attempt at a Red Flash comeback and won the set by four.

·         Liprando picked up six kills and AJ Schmidt (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) added five.

·         Szwabinsky added 12 assists to his total.

·         Final Score: Harvard 25, SFU 21 (Harvard leads 2-1).

Set Four

·         Neither team held a lead more than two until Harvard took a 14-12 lead.

·         After Harvard took a 16-13 lead, SFU used a 4-0 run to retake the lead and force a Crimson timeout.

·         Following the timeout, the teams went back and forth, seeing four ties until 20-20. SFU followed with two quick points to go up 22-20.

·         The teams eventually found themselves tied at 24 and 25, then kills from Thomas Leahey (State College, Pa./State College Area HS) and Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) closed it for the Red Flash.

·         Fisher – 10 kills

·         Szwabinsky – 14 assists

·         Final Score: SFU 27, Harvard 25 (Tied 2-2).

Set Five

·         Harvard jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but five unanswered SFU points put the Red Flash up by two.

·         The rest of the set was up for grabs with ties at 9-12, but an error and a Crimson kill gave Harvard the advantage and the match.

·         Final Score: Harvard 15, SFU 13 (Harvard wins 3-2).

Box Score Notes

·         Blake Liprando (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley HS) led the match with 20 kills.

·         Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) added 19 kills. The two combined for 11 digs and seven service aces.

·         AJ Schmidt (Pittsburgh, PA/North Allegheny) chipped in 13 kills.

·         Roman Szwabinsky (Columbus, Ohio/Westerville South) had a career-high 60 assists.

·         Ryan Alu (Pipersville, PA/Central Bucks West) picked up 16 digs.

·         SFU outkilled Harvard, 62-46.

·         SFU also had more assists (61-43).

·         Errors: SFU 26, Harvard 11

·         Attack %: Harvard .302, SFU .235.

Up next for the Red Flash is a quick trip to Fairfield, Conn. for a 4 pm matchup with Sacred Heart on Saturday.