LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team is set to play its first home conference matches of the season, taking on Charleston on Friday night and Saturday afternoon.
THE MATCHUP: Saint Francis (1-8, 0-2) vs. Charleston (0-2, 0-2)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
Game 1: Friday, Feb. 12 – 8:00 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game 2: Saturday, Feb. 13 – 4:00 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Charleston, who is playing a conference-only schedule this season, dropped its first two matches of the season to No. 12 George Mason last weekend, 3-2 and 3-0. In the five-set match, Charleston was down 2-0 before sending it to a fifth, eventually dropping it, 15-10.
Through their first weekend of play, the Golden Eagles are led in kills by Maarten Bartels, who has 21. No other Golden Eagle has 20 yet, but they do have four more players who have registered more than 10. Passing for Charleston is Diego Villafane, who has 65 of the teams 74 total assists. Defensively, Ismael Sneed leads the team with seven total blocks, followed by Bartels and Ian Barker with five apiece.
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis leads the series, 8-2, and is currently on a three-match win streak against Charleston. The first match between the teams came in 2015, a Red Flash sweep. The last time these teams met was last season (Feb. 28, 2020), with SFU sweeping the Golden Eagles in Loretto. Michael Fisher led the match with 14 kills, and Blake Liprando added eight of his own.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Red Flash dropped both its matches to No. 11 Penn State. SFU was swept on Thursday, and lost a heartbreaking five-set match on Saturday. On Saturday, the Red Flash was up, 2-1, before Penn State clawed back in for the win.
FISHER REACHES MILESTONE
Heading into Saturday's match in State College, graduate student Michael Fisher needed just 18 kills to reach 1,000 on his career. Early in the fifth set, Fisher got his 18th, becoming just the sixth player in SFU history to reach the milestone. He finished the match with 21, and now sits at 1,003 total. Fisher now needs just 85 more kills to reach the top five in Saint Francis history.
FIVE SET MATCHES
This season, the Red Flash has already played in four five-set matches. In the 18-match season last year, SFU only played in five, with a record of 2-3. This year, SFU's five-set match record sits at 0-4, but the team is losing the fifth set by an average of 5.5 points, including two five-point losses and a two-point loss.
TEAM STATISTICAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (3.88/set)
ASST – Roman Szwabinsky (8.84/set)
DIGS – Matthew Menosky, AJ Schmidt (1.54/set)
TOTAL BLOCKS – Brandon Dunz (1.0/set)
SERVICE ACES – Jason Najm (0.42/set)
NEXT UP
Following the homestand against Charleston, the Red Flash will hit the road again, traveling to No. 12 George Mason next weekend for a Friday/Saturday series. Matches are set for 7 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Follow Saint Francis Men's Volleyball on Twitter and Instagram to get up-to-date information and a behind-the-scenes look at the Red Flash.
To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.
