CHARLESTON, W.V. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team took down Charleston on Friday in five sets after falling behind, 2-1. The win marks the Red Flash's third consecutive victory and puts them in a tie for fourth in EIVA play.
The Red Flash picked up a season-high 17 service aces in the match, including one in the fifth set from
Joshua Blair, helping give SFU a boost in a match that was tight all night long.
Saint Francis 3, Charleston 2 (25-15, 24-26, 21-25, 25-22, 15-8)
Records: Saint Francis (4-14, 3-8), Charleston (4-9, 4-9)
Location: Wehrle Innovation Center (Charleston, W.V.)
COACH RUMBAUGH'S COMMENTS
"Our service pressure was the difference. When we can serve like we did tonight, it builds confidence, and when we're confident, we can compete with anyone."
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
- The Red Flash jumped out to an early 3-1 lead, but Charleston tied it at four, leading to a back and forth between the teams to a 9-9 tie.
- Back-to-back kills from Joshua Blair forced a Charleston timeout with the Red Flash up 12-9.
- Michael Fisher added kills of his own to stretch the Red Flash lead to 15-10, with Blake Liprando pushing it to seven after consecutive aces.
- Saint Francis continued to hold strong, extending the lead to 10 to take set one, 25-15.
SET TWO
- Charleston picked up the first two points of the set, but Golden Eagles errors and a Thomas Leahey/Blake Liprando block pushed the Red Flash to a 3-2 lead.
- Charleston answered with the next point, then the teams went point for point to a tie at eight.
- Trevor Lewis answered with consecutive aces to put the Red Flash up 10-8, and SFU continued to hold onto the 2-3 point lead.
- With SFU up 17-15, Fisher picked up a kill followed by back-to-back aces to put the Red Flash up five.
- Charleston cut into the Red Flash lead late, eventually tying the set at 23 and 24, and scoring the final two points to take the set, 26-24, and tie the match at one.
SET THREE
- SFU took a quick 4-2 lead, but the teams were quickly knotted again at six.
- Tied at six, the Golden Eagles rattled off four straight for a 10-6 lead.
- The Red Flash answered with a run of its own, scoring five of seven to cut the lead to one, and eventually tying it at 13 after a Lewis kill.
- SFU finally gained another advantage after an AJ Schmidt ace and another Lewis kill put the Red Flash up 16-14.
- Five consecutive Golden Eagles points put them back up, 19-16, and they eventually held on for a 25-21 win.
SET FOUR
- The teams started close, but Charleston took the first lead at 8-4.
- At 15-10 Golden Eagles, Saint Francis scored six straight, capped off by a Joshua Blair block, to give the Red Flash a 16-15 lead.
- Charleston tied it at 16, leading to a back-and-forth between the teams.
- Saint Francis held two-point leads at 20-18 and 21-19, maintaining the lead and winning 25-22 to send it to five.
SET FIVE
- Saint Francis forced an immediate timeout by Charleston after a Fisher kill put the Red Flash up, 3-0.
- Charleston answered with the next two points, but SFU took control back, using a 10-3 run to take a 13-5 lead.
- Saint Francis never looked back, taking set five, 15-8, and winning its third consecutive match.
STATS
- Saint Francis led Charleston in kills (53-39), assists (48-34), digs (45-36), and blocks (10-6).
- Saint Francis also hit .268 compared to .158 from Charleston.
- The Red Flash picked up a season-high 17 aces, with the Golden Eagles registering seven.
RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS –
Michael Fisher (15; match-high)
ASST –
AJ Schmidt (44; match-high)
DIGS –
Blake Liprando (11; match-high)
ACES –
Blake Liprando, Joshua Blair (4; match-high)
BLOCKS –
Joshua Blair (1 solo, 4 asst; match-high)
UP NEXT
The Red Flash and the Golden Eagles will conclude their weekend and regular season matchups tomorrow at 4:00 p.m. The match can also be found live on Mountain East TV.
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.
