LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (1-6, 0-0) will open up EIVA conference play this weekend, traveling to University Park to battle No. 11 Penn State on Thursday night and Saturday afternoon.
THE MATCHUP: Saint Francis (1-6, 0-0) vs. No. 11 Penn State (3-1, 0-0)
Location: Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)
Date and Time: Thursday, Feb. 4 – 8:00 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 6 – 1:30 p.m.
Watch: Big 10 Network+ (Subscription Required)
Live Stats: Sidearm
SCOUTING THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State comes into the weekend 3-1, but Saint Francis will be just their second opponent of the season. The Nittany Lions opened their season with a four-match home-and-home series against Ohio State, going 1-1 in Columbus and 2-0 at home.
This season, Penn State has been led on offense by Cal Fisher and Brett Wildman, who have picked up 32 and 24 kills, respectively. The Nittany Lions also have three other players with double-digit kills. Passing for them is Cole Bogner, who has tallied 91 of 109 total Nittany Lion assists. On defense, Bogner is tied with Canyon Tuman with eight total blocks each. Penn State has a hitting percentage of .276 so far, and has also added 26 service aces in just four matches.
SERIES HISTORY
Penn State lead the all-time series, 45-3. The Red Flash has been playing the Nittany Lions since 1994, and Penn State is currently on a six-match win streak. Saint Francis' last victory came in 2017, a 3-2 win at DeGol Arena. Last season, Penn State won in Loretto, 3-0, during their only matchup of the shortened season.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Red Flash fell to No. 4 Lewis, 3-0, on Friday before dropping a heartbreaker to Loyola on Saturday in five sets. Michael Fisher paced SFU in kills on both days, totaling nine and 21, respectively.
FINDING A STRIDE
Head Coach Mike Rumbaugh has noticed the improvement that the Red Flash has made since the beginning of the season. Though he believes that they are nowhere near their full potential yet, he noted the chemistry of the team and the steps they are making in the right direction. With EIVA play beginning, the Red Flash will look to gain on these strides and breakthrough in a strong conference that matches SFU up with the preseason conference No. 1 to begin.
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Through SFU's first seven matches, the team has led its opponents in kills (331-307), assists (307-284), and service aces (46-39). The Red Flash trails opponents in total blocks (57.5-56.0) and hitting percentage (.217-.173) and has committed more attack errors thus far (182-139).
TEAM STATISICAL LEADERS
KILLS – Alex Finch, Joshua Blair (56)
ASSISTS – Roman Szwabinsky (222)
DIGS – Matthew Menosky (51)
TOTAL BLOCKS – Zac Cabral (22)
SERVICE ACES – Zac Cabral (7)
NEXT UP
Following the conference-opening weekend, the Red Flash will return home to continue EIVA play against Charleston. Matches are set for Friday (Feb. 12) at 8 p.m. and Saturday (Feb. 13) at 4 p.m. Broadcasting information will be available prior to Friday.
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.
