LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team fell to No. 10 NJIT on Friday night after battling back from two sets down to send it to five.

Michael Fisher led the match with 19 kills, and the Red Flash out-blocked the Highlanders, but NJIT held on late in set five to close out the victory.

Saint Francis 2, No. 10 NJIT 3 (21-25, 21-25, 25-12, 25-23, 9-15)
Records: Saint Francis (5-17, 4-11), NJIT (12-5, 12-3)
Location: DeGol Arena (Loretto, Pa.)

COACH RUMBAUGH'S COMMENTS
"NJIT is a great team. I liked seeing the improvements we have made since the last time we played, and it was a battle tonight."

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE

• The teams stayed tight until NJIT took a 10-7 lead, eventually pushing it to 16-10.
• SFU was able to cut the deficit to three at 19-16, but NJIT held on to take set one, 25-21.

SET TWO

• The Red Flash jumped out to an early 5-2 lead, forcing a Highlanders timeout.
• Out of the timeout, NJIT tied it shortly after, leading to a back-and-forth that saw the teams stay within two until late.
• At 22-20 NJIT, the Highlanders scored three of the final four points to take the set, 25-21.

SET THREE

• SFU jumped out to an 8-4 lead, then forced a Highlanders timeout at 10-5.
• A strong attack and little errors helped SFU jump out to its biggest lead at 13.
• SFU continued to pile on in the third, gaining a 24-11 lead and running away with it to take it, 25-12.

SET FOUR

• The Red Flash jumped out to another early lead, going up 6-3.
• NJIT answered quick, scoring the next five to force an SFU timeout at 8-6.
• The Highlanders continued to hold the 2-3 point lead until the Red Flash was able to tie it at 15.
• Out of the tie, the teams stayed neck and neck for the rest of the set, with the Red Flash taking a late lead and holding on for a 25-23 win, sending it to five.

SET FIVE

• NJIT took an early 4-2 lead, extending it to 8-4 to force a Red Flash timeout.
• The Highlanders continued to push their lead, reaching 9-4 and holding on to take the set, 15-9, for the win.

STATS

• NJIT held the advantage in kills (53-51), assists (48-47), service aces (10-6), and digs (28-25)
• SFU had a better hitting percentage (.353-.294), more team blocks (6.0-4.0), and less attack and service errors.

RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (19; match-high)
ASST – AJ Schmidt (38)
DIGS – Matthew Menosky (8; match-high)
BLOCKS – AJ Schmidt (1 solo, 3 asst.; match-high)
SERVICE ACES – Michael Fisher (2)

UP NEXT
Saint Francis will conclude its regular season home schedule tomorrow, April 3 at 4:00 p.m. against NJIT. The match will also be senior day, honoring Michael Fisher, Daniel Fry, Roman Szwabinsky, Jason Najm, and Christian Griego. 

Follow Saint Francis Men's Volleyball on Facebook, 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.