Loretto, Pa. – The Red Flash men's volleyball team (4-10, 1-4 EIVA) will host two more conference matches this weekend, taking on Charleston (4-9, 2-3 EIVA) on Friday night and #15 George Mason (8-6, 3-2 EIVA) on Saturday night.
Scouting Charleston
After a 1-9 start, the Golden Eagles are riding a three-game win streak into Loretto after defeating Tusculum and Sacred Heart twice. Charleston is struggling away from home, holding an 0-4 road record prior to Friday night.
Overall, the Golden Eagles have out-killed (515-469) and out-assisted opponents (468-425). On the other side, their defense has averaged just 1.6 blocks per set and the team has had more attack errors than opponents (84-60).
On offense, plenty of Golden Eagles players have been in the kill column. Sophomore Lachlan Bray leads the team with 102 kills, followed by Jake Vorburger with 83 kills. Charleston has five players with at least 40 kills and 10 players with at least 20. Dishing out assists for Charleston is Diego Villafane, who has 410 of the teams 468.
Defensively, six Charleston players also have 30+ digs. At the net, Villafane also leads the Golden Eagles with five solo blocks and 23 block assists.
Series History: SFU leads 7-2
After winning the first five matches against Charleston, SFU dropped the next two. Last season, the Red Flash extended the series lead with a season sweep. The match in Loretto last season saw a 3-1 Red Flash victory. BJ Blair (Bridgewater, NJ/Bridgewater Raritan) led that match with 45 assists.
Scouting George Mason
George Mason sits at #15 in the country heading into this weekend. Before coming to Loretto on Saturday, they will take on #10 Penn State Friday in State College. After a three-match win streak to get their record to 7-4, the Patriots have lost two of their last three matches to drop back down to 8-6, losing to Harvard and Princeton and beating NJIT.
Statistically, George Mason is behind its opponents in kills (602-638), assists (563-592) and attack % (.239-.277). The team has played well on defense, though, with seven more blocks than opponents (117-110) and more digs (484-440). George Mason also has less attack errors, serve errors, and reception errors than opponents.
Leading the Patriots charge is Richie Hoff, who has 139 kills. Three other Patriots also have 100+ kills. Two players have accounted for nearly all George Mason assists, with Zach Talamoa at 330 and Ayrton Garcia-Jurado at 162. The two have combined for 492 of the team's total 563.
Sam Greenslade has a team-high 105 digs so far, and Jack Reese leads the defense with 40 block assists. He also has six solo blocks, tied for second on the team behind Bryce Gatling (7 solo).
Series History: George Mason leads 13-12
These teams have had historically close matchups, with the longest winning streak by either team at four games (George Mason, 2010-11). The Red Flash are on a two-match win streak against the Patriots after a season sweep in 2019. In the home match last season, SFU won 3-0, with Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) picking up 12 kills.
Halfway Through EIVA Play
The conclusion of this weekend will mark the halfway point in conference play. Currently, SFU sits in seventh out of eight teams with a 1-4 record. Wins this weekend would move the Red Flash into fifth place with seven conference matches remaining.
Three-Match Week
This week is the only week of the season the Red Flash will play three matches. SFU fell to #10 Penn State on Tuesday and have had just three days before another full weekend slate.
EIVA Leaderboards
Michael Fisher (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Cumberland Valley) continues to provide the Red Flash with consistency. He still ranks second in the conference in kills (186) and kills per set (3.86). Both those statistics also put Fisher in the top-10 nationally.
