UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team fell to top-seeded Penn State on Thursday night, 3-0, in the EIVA Tournament Semifinals.

Behind a storm of Red Flash fans at Rec Hall, Saint Francis put up a fight in the second and third sets, finding ties late in each, but just missed getting over the hump, ultimately resulting in the final match of the season.

No. 4 Saint Francis 0, No. 1 Penn State 3 (16-25, 22-25, 20-25)
Records: Saint Francis (8-19, 6-12), Penn State (20-3, 16-2)
Location: Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)

HOW IT HAPPENED

SET ONE

• A solo block from AJ Schmidt game the Red Flash the opening point, but Penn State answered with the next six to take a 6-1 lead, forcing an SFU timeout.
• Saint Francis scored two of the next three behind kills from Michael Fisher and Joshua Blair, but the Nittany Lions were able to stretch their lead to nine at 17-8.
• Another Schmidt block and Fisher kill cut into the deficit, but Penn State held on to take set one, 25-16.

SET TWO

• Michael Fisher started the set with a kill, and one from Alex Finch gave SFU an early 3-1 lead.
• Penn State tied it at four, then the teams traded points to six before the Nittany Lions scored five of six to take an 11-7 lead.
• The Nittany Lions continued to grab a lead, reaching 15-9, but another Thomas Leahey kill in his homecoming match helped keep the Red Flash in striking distance.
• After trailing by seven, kills from Finch and Schmidt followed by a Fisher ace helped SFU cut the deficit to 20-17, and the Red Flash cut it to two at 23-21 to force a Penn State timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Penn State was able to score two of three to take the second set, 25-22.

SET THREE

• Trevor Lewis started the set with a kill, but the Nittany Lions were able to take a 4-2 lead.
• SFU settled in and tied it at six, and the teams started a back-and-forth, staying within two until the Nittany Lions took a 14-11 lead.
• A block from Blair and Schmidt cut the deficit to one again at 14-13, but Penn State scored the next three to force a Red Flash timeout.
• Out of the timeout, back-to-back kills from Blair and Fisher and a Penn State error brought the set back to one at 17-16, and another kill from Finch tied the set at 18.
• In the race to seven, Penn State scored the four of the first five points, helping them take set three, 25-20, to win the match.

STATS

• Penn State led in kills (38-35), hitting percentage (.390-.224), assists (36-33), aces (7-4), blocks (5-4), and digs (31-27).
• Saint Francis committed 16 attack errors and 13 service errors compared to eight and nine from Penn State.

RED FLASH INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (13; match-high)
ASST – AJ Schmidt (31; match-high)
DIGS – Matthew Menosky (9)
BLOCKS – AJ Schmidt (2 solo, 1 asst.; match-high)
SERVICE ACES – Michael Fisher (2)

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To learn more about Saint Francis University, visit francis.edu.