LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team saw its four-match win streak come to an end on Friday night, falling to No. 15 George Mason in five sets after leading 2-1.
On the night that welcomed Red Flash fans back to DeGol Arena, the match was close from beginning to end, with set three ending 34-32 Red Flash, and
Michael Fisher picking up a season-high 25 kills.
Saint Francis 2, No. 15 George Mason 3 (25-22, 21-25, 34-32, 22-25, 12-15)
Records: Saint Francis (5-15, 4-9), George Mason (12-5, 9-4)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
COACH RUMBAUGH'S COMMENTS
"It was a tough loss tonight, but we made a lot of strides since the last time we played them. [Michael] Fisher had some key swings and our middles did a good job offensively tonight."
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
- With some extra momentum behind the Red Flash crowd, SFU jumped out to a 5-2 lead behind a Joshua Blair kill and consecutive aces from Trevor Lewis.
- Mason cut it to one at 5-4, but SFU answered and extended the lead back to 9-6.
- After a Patriots timeout at 12-8 Red Flash, blocks from Blair and AJ Schmidt and Blair and Michael Fisher gave SFU its biggest lead at 16-11.
- SFU continued to hold strong, forcing another Mason timeout at 19-14 and closing the set out by three, 25-22.
SET TWO
- Kills from Fisher, Lewis, and Schmidt pushed the Red Flash to an early 4-2 lead.
- Mason tied it at four, leading to a back-and-forth between the teams to a tie at seven.
- The Patriots responded with three straight points to force a Red Flash timeout.
- Out of the timeout, SFU scored three straight to tie it at 10, but Mason put up the next six of eight to take a 16-12 lead.
- The Red Flash cut Mason's lead to one at 17-16, but the Patriots were able to hold on and take set two, 25-21.
SET THREE
- The teams stayed within one until a Red Flash block put SFU up 7-5.
- A Leahey/Lewis block put Saint Francis up 9-6, but Mason answered to cut it to one.
- With the Red Flash leading 12-9, the Patriots again cut it to one, but a kill from Fisher and a Trevor Lewis ace put the Red Flash up, 15-11.
- Out of the timeout, Mason tied the set at 18 and 19, and the teams found themselves knotted again at 22 and 23.
- With Mason up 24-23, a block from Blair tied the set again at 24, and a Leahey kill tied it at 25.
- Tied at 32, kills from Lewis and Blake Lirpando gave SFU the set, 34-32, and a 2-1 lead in the match.
SET FOUR
- The teams went back-and-forth to start the set, trading points until Mason took the first early lead at 5-3.
- Mason then extended its lead to four at 9-5, forcing an SFU timeout.
- Out of the timeout, the Red Flash battled back and tied it at 11 after kills from Blair and Fisher, and another Fisher kill gave SFU a 12-11 lead, forcing a Patriots timeout.
- Saint Francis gained a 16-14 lead, but Mason stormed back to take a 19-17 lead.
- Mason then extended its lead to 24-20, holding on to win 25-22 to send it to five.
SET FIVE
- Continuing the back-and-forth, the teams stayed within one until Mason took a 6-4 lead.
- The Patriots grabbed a 9-6 lead, but SFU battled back to tie the set at 10.
- Mason scored the next two to force a Red Flash timeout, and eventually took a 13-10 lead, but SFU scored the next two, with Mason using a timeout up 13-12.
- The Patriots then closed out the set, 15-12, to take the match.
STATS
- Kills were 68-56 Red Flash. SFU also led in assists, 62-49.
- The Red Flash picked up 12.5 team blocks to 6.0 from Mason.
- Aces were 9-6 SFU, but the Red Flash also had 27 service errors compared to 12 from Mason.
- Saint Francis had a hitting percentage of .248 to Mason's .241.
- Digs were tied at 53.
RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS –
Michael Fisher (25; match-high)
ASST –
AJ Schmidt (57; match-high)
DIGS –
Matthew Menosky (13)
ACES –
Trevor Lewis (3; match-high)
BLOCKS –
Joshua Blair (6 asst.; match-high)
UP NEXT
Saint Francis and No. 15 George Mason will play their fourth and final match of the regular season tomorrow at DeGol Arena. First serve is set for 5 p.m. and 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.
