LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team was swept by No. 15 George Mason to close out the weekend, finishing the regular season 0-4 against the Patriots.

Michael Fisher picked up another match-high with 16 kills, and the Red Flash never lost a set by more than four, but Mason held on at the end of each to pick up a sweep in the closely fought battle.

Saint Francis 0, No. 15 George Mason 3 (22-25, 21-25, 23-25)
Records: Saint Francis (5-16, 4-10), George Mason (13-5, 10-4)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE

• The match started with the Patriots jumping out to a 5-2 lead, but SFU answered to cut it to one at 7-6, and the set stayed within one until used a quick run to take a 14-10 lead.
• SFU then used a timeout, but Mason came out of it to push the lead to 16-11.
• A kill from Trevor Lewis and an ace from Blake Liprando cut the lead to two, but Mason answered to take a 20-15 lead.
• The next four points went to SFU to make it 20-19 Patriots, but Mason held on to take set one, 25-22.

SET TWO

• Set two began with a 4-4 tie, but Mason scored the next four to force a Red Flash timeout.
• SFU came out of the timeout and scored six of the next seven points to take a 10-9 lead, jumpstarting a 9-3 run that gave the Red Flash a two-point lead.
• Mason took a two-point lead of its own shortly after, and the teams found themselves tied at 17.
• Tied at 20, Mason rattled off five of the next six to take set two, 25-21.

SET THREE

• Set three began with a tie at eight before a Red Flash block and a Michael Fisher kill gave the Red Flash a 10-8 lead.
• Mason quickly answered and the teams were tied again though 14, with SFU then taking a 16-14 lead.
• The Patriots tied it again at 16, and took an 18-16 lead, holding on for a 25-23 win to complete the sweep.

STATS

• Mason held a slight advantage in kills (34-33), assists (31-29) and hitting percentage (.286-.124).
• SFU picked up more service aces (5-3) and digs (33-28).
• The Patriots out-blocked the Red Flash, 10.5-6.0.
• SFU had 22 attack errors and 15 service errors to Mason's 10 and 17.

RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (16; match-high)
ASST – AJ Schmidt (26; tied match-high)
DIGS – Michael Fisher (8)
ACES – Michael Fisher, Blake Liprando (2; match-high)
BLOCKS – AJ Schmidt, Joshua Blair (4 asst.)

UP NEXT
The Red Flash will stay home next weekend for two matches with No. 11 NJIT. Times are set for Friday at 7 p.m. and Saturday at 4 p.m., with Saturday also Red Flash senior day.  

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.