UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team (1-7, 0-1) dropped its conference opener on Thursday to No. 11 Penn State (4-1, 1-0) in three sets.

Saint Francis 0, No. 11 Penn State 3 (17-25, 16-25, 19-25)
Records: Saint Francis (1-7, 0-1), Penn State (4-1, 1-0)
Location: Rec Hal (University Park, Pa.)

COACH RUMBAUGH'S COMMENTS

"We are just not there yet. I can see moments when we look really good. To beat high-level teams, we need to be able to spread the net and control the ball in bad situations. Penn State did a really good job of keeping us out of sync most of the match."

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE

·         SFU scored the match's first point on a huge Michael Fisher kill, but Penn State answered by jumping out to an 8-4 lead.

·         The Red Flash was able to keep the Nittany Lion lead between 4-7, but could never get over the hump, with Penn State extending its lead late to eight, taking set one, 25-17.

SET TWO

·         The teams were tied at four early, but Penn State rattled off eight of the next nine points to take a 12-5 lead.

·         The Red Flash deficit stayed steady between 7-9, and the Nittany Lions were able to take the set by nine, 25-16.

SET THREE

·         SFU took its first two-point lead of the night at 7-5, but the Nittany Lions caught up at 8-8.

·         SFU scored four of the next five points to take a 12-9 lead.

·         Penn State tied the match at 13 and the teams began to trade points.

·         With the score 18-17 Penn State, the Nittany Lions scored seven of the final nine points to down the Red Flash, 25-19, and get the sweep.

STATS

·         Michael Fisher led the Red Flash with 11. Blake Liprando added six.

·         Liprando and AJ Schmidt each had six digs.

·         Roman Szwabinsky registered 20 assists.

UP NEXT

Saint Francis will travel back to University Park on Saturday, taking on Penn State again at 1:30 p.m. Broadcast can be found on Big 10 Network+.

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.