CHARLESTON, W.V. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team returns to action this weekend, taking on the Golden Eagles of Charleston for the third and fourth matches of the season between the teams.
With the matches last weekend against No. 9 Penn State canceled, the Red Flash still carries a two-match win streak into West Virginia with hopes of squaring the 2021 series against Charleston at two.
The Matchup: Saint Francis (3-14, 2-8) at Charleston (4-8, 4-8)
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center (Charleston, W.V.)
Game 1: Friday, March 19 – 7:00 p.m.
Watch: Mountain East TV
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
Game 2: Saturday, March 20 – 4:00 p.m.
Watch: Mountain East TV
Live Stats: Sidearm Stats
SCOUTING THE GOLDEN EAGLES
Charleston comes into the weekend in fourth in the EIVA with a 4-8 record, one game ahead of the Red Flash in the conference standings. Currently, the Golden Eagles are on a four-match skid, dropping two each to a pair of ranked teams in Penn State and George Mason.
Leading the Golden Eagles charge is Maarten Bartels and Ismael Sneed. Bartels leads the team with 117 kills, and Sneed has 82. Sneed also leads the conference in hitting percentage at .463. Passing for Charleston is Diego Villafane, who has 388 of 446 Charleston assists, and ranks fourth in the conference with 8.82 assists per set.
On defense, Sneed and Ian Barker are the only two Golden Eagles with 20+ blocks, but three other Charleston players have at least 10 total.
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis leads the series, 8-4. Charleston's wins earlier in the season snapped a three-match Red Flash win streak in an all-time series that dates back to 2015.
FIRST TIME AROUND
Saint Francis played its third and fourth conference matches of the season against Charleston in Loretto, dropping both. On that Friday, the Red Flash lost in five sets, with Michael Fisher picking up a match-high 15 kills. On Saturday, Charleston swept Saint Francis to complete the 2-0 weekend.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Red Flash weekend slate against the Nittany Lions was canceled, giving SFU 13 days between matches. Two weekends ago, Saint Francis picked up its first two conference wins of the season, downing Sacred Heart 3-1 and 3-0. Michael Fisher and freshman Trevor Lewis were one and two in kills in both matches, with Fisher earning his second EIVA Offensive Player of the Week Award of the season.
EIVA RANKINGS
Even with last weekend's cancelations, the Red Flash still has players among conference rankings. Michael Fisher is fifth in the EIVA with 129 kills, and Roman Szwabinsky is fifth with 8.29 assists per set. Defensively, Thomas Leahey is second with 0.94 blocks per set, and Joshua Blair has a 5-32-37 block line for fourth. Finally, Matthew Menosky ranks fifth in the conference with 77 total digs.
RED FLASH STATISTICAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (3.58/set)
ASST – Roman Szwabinsky (8.29/set)
DIGS – Michael Fisher, AJ Schmidt (1.53/set)
BLOCKS – Thomas Leahey (0.94/set)
SERVICE ACES – Peyton Blain (0.33/set)
UP NEXT
Following the trip to West Virginia, Saint Francis will return home for another four-match home slate, first welcoming No. 14 George Mason to town for two. Matches are set for Friday, March 26 at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday, March 27 at 4:00 p.m. Both will be live on NEC Front Row.
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.
