LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team picked up its first conference win of the season on Friday night, downing Sacred Heart in four sets.
On the night that
Michael Fisher was honored with a game ball for 1,000 career kills, he went on to lead the match with 24 kills and a .381 hitting percentage. Freshman
Trevor Lewis was second in kills for the match, contributing a career-high 14 while hitting .241.
Saint Francis 3, Sacred Heart 1 (25-18, 25-22, 27-29, 25-15)
Records: Saint Francis (2-14, 1-8), Sacred Heart (0-7, 0-7)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)
COACH RUMBAUGH'S COMMENTS
"It's good to get back in the win column. I was proud of Michael [Fisher], he had a very good night and I also thought Dan's [Fry] serves came in clutch at the right time. Now, we need to use today to come in tomorrow and perform the same way."
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE
- Early kills from Daniel Fry and Michael Fisher got the Red Flash on the board, 2-0.
- Errors from Saint Francis and a Pioneers block helped Sacred Heart take a 5-4 lead, but another Fisher kill led to ties at five and six.
- Tied at six, three consecutive Red Flash points forced a Pioneers timeout.
- Out of the timeout, an ace from Thomas Leahey, a strong net presence and more Fisher kills helped the Red Flash to a 18-12 lead.
- Saint Francis never slowed down, holding onto the lead and taking set one, 25-18.
SET TWO
- The teams traded kills to begin the set, finding themselves tied at seven.
- Following the tie, Saint Francis scored five of the next seven points to take a 12-9 lead.
- Trevor Lewis' seventh kill of the night pushed the Red Flash lead to 15-10, with SFU eventually stretching it to 19-12.
- To close the set, Sacred Heart cut into the Red Flash lead, but Saint Francis held on to win, 25-22, after a Pioneers service error.
SET THREE
- A Daniel Fry ace and kills from Lewis and Fisher helped the Red Flash jump out to a 5-2 lead.
- The Pioneers cut the lead to 9-7, but Fry's second ace of the set extended the lead back to four at 11-7.
- Saint Francis continued to hold momentum, forcing a Sacred Heart timeout at 13-7 and pulling away for a 17-9 lead.
- Sacred Heart turned it around and tied the set at 23, which was followed by a Fisher kill and a Pioneers kill to knot it at 24.
- Tied at 27, a Red Flash attack error and a Pioneers kill gave Sacred Heart the 29-27 win.
SET FOUR
- Another Fry ace gave the Red Flash the first point, helping the home team jump out to an early 6-3 lead.
- Saint Francis continued to hold the 3-4 point margin, but errors from the Pioneers, a Roman Szwabinsky ace and a Leahey kill propelled the Red Flash lead to eight at 14-6.
- Sacred Heart answered with four of five points to cut the lead to four, but more kills from Fisher, Lewis, and Leahey pushed the margin back to seven at 21-14.
- A massive block by Leahey and Szwabinsky and a kill from Blake Liprando gave SFU match point, and Fisher buried his 24th kill of the night to give the Red Flash a 25-15 set win and a 3-1 victory.
STATS
- The Red Flash led in nearly all major categories:
- Kills (55-39)
- Asst. (50-37)
- Digs (39-28)
- Aces (10-1)
- Hitting Percentage (.263-.198)
- Sacred Heart had more blocks than the Red Flash (3.0-1.0)
- SFU had more attack errors (25-18), but Sacred Heart had more service errors (18-17)
RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS –
Michael Fisher (24; match-high)
ASST –
Roman Szwabinsky (46; match-high)
DIGS –
Michael Fisher (10)
ACES –
Daniel Fry (4; match high)
BLOCKS –
Roman Szwabinsky, Thomas Leahey (1 block asst.)
UP NEXT
The Red Flash and the Pioneers will conclude their weekend matchup tomorrow. First serve is set for 4:00 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.
