FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team concludes its regular season this weekend, traveling to Connecticut to take on Sacred Heart for the teams' third and fourth matchups of the year.
The Matchup: Saint Francis (5-18, 4-12) vs. Sacred Heart (1-17, 0-14)
Location: William H. Pitt Center (Fairfield, Conn.)
Game 1: Friday, April 9 – 7:00 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: SHUBigRed.com
Game 2: Saturday, April 10 – 2:00 p.m.
Watch: NEC Front Row
Live Stats: SHUBigRed.com
SCOUTING THE PIONEERS
Sacred Heart comes into the weekend with just one win on the year, taking down St. Francis Brooklyn on March 30. On offense, Nicholas Palluzzi leads the team with 115 kills, averaging 2.30 per set. The Pioneers have two other players with 80+ kills in Shawn Tischler and Mark Berry.
Defensively, Ife Loverton and Aaron Peterson lead the team with 30 blocks each, while senior Timothy McIntosh leads the conference in digs and digs per set at 136 and 2.52.
SERIES HISTORY
Saint Francis leads the series, 25-4, winning the past five against the Pioneers and 10 of the last 11.
FIRST TIME AROUND
The Red Flash hosted Sacred Heart on March 5 and 6 this season at DeGol Arena, with SFU winning 3-1 and 3-0. In Friday's match, Michael Fisher led the charge with 24 kills to eclipse the 1,000 kill mark, while Saturday saw SFU hit a season second-best .333.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend at DeGol Arena, the Red Flash lost a heartbreaker to NJIT on Friday night, 3-2, dropping the fifth set, 15-9. On Saturday, SFU fell 3-0 to the tenth-ranked Highlanders.
EIVA RANKINGS
As a team, the Red Flash ranks third in the conference in aces (1.43/set), digs (8.70/set), and blocks (1.79/set)
Individually, Michael Fisher leads the conference with 230 kills, and ranks second with 3.83 kills per set. Defensively, Joshua Blair is second in the EIVA with a block line of 8-50-58 and Thomas Leahey ranks third with 0.84 blocks per set. Matthew Menosky also ranks second with 128 total digs.
RED FLASH STATISTICAL LEADERS
KILLS – Michael Fisher (3.83)
ASST – Roman Szwabinsky (8.23)
DIGS – Blake Liprando (1.63)
BLOCKS – Thomas Leahey (0.84)
SERVICE ACES – Michael Fisher (0.33)
UP NEXT
The Saint Francis regular season ends, and the Red Flash will participate in the EIVA Conference Tournament beginning next weekend. Date, time, location, and broadcast information will be available in the coming week.
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.
