LORETTO, Pa. – Saint Francis head women's volleyball coach Sara McMullen has announced the 2021 fall schedule for the Red Flash's return to action.

The Red Flash will play a 26-match regular-season schedule that includes the first home tournament at DeGol Arena since 2017 when three teams visit for the Red Flash Classic Presented by Altoona Grand Hotel.

The 2021 season will begin with four matches in the state of Ohio, as the Red Flash return to competition with an opening-weekend tournament at Youngstown State. The much-anticipated first match of the year will be a clash with Akron (Aug. 27) before additional weekend contests against Duquesne (Aug. 27) and host Youngstown State (Aug. 28). A midweek trip back to the Buckeye State will pit the Red Flash against the Golden Flashes of Kent State (Aug. 31).

Saint Peter's, Delaware State, and Georgetown make the trip to Loretto for the Red Flash Classic Presented by Altoona Grand Hotel (Sept. 3-4). A Friday night clash with Saint Peter's will mark the first regular-season women's volleyball match in DeGol Arena since 2019. The Red Flash will face Delaware State and Georgetown in Saturday competition.

The Red Flash travels to New York's Capital Region for three matches at Siena in the season's third non-conference weekend (Sept. 10-11). Saint Francis will face the host Saints in the opener before a non-league match against NEC member Central Connecticut. SFU and Delaware State will meet for a second time on the season in the Saturday contest.

Saint Francis will play two matches at Maryland-Eastern Shore in the fourth weekend with a Friday night match against the Hawks (Sept. 17) and a Saturday's neutral-site contest vs. Hampton (Sept. 18).

NEC play opens Sept. 24 when St. Francis Brooklyn visits DeGol Arena. A match against defending conference champion LIU will follow on Sept. 25.

SFU will play a stretch of five out of six away from Loretto to begin October, opening the month at Sacred Heart and Central Connecticut (Oct. 1-2). Fairleigh Dickinson makes the trip to Pennsylvania (Oct. 9) before Saint Francis goes back to New England to face Merrimack and Bryant (Oct. 15-16).

A single match in New Jersey against FDU (Oct. 23) is followed by four straight matches at home as Merrimack (Oct. 29), Bryant (Oct. 30), Sacred Heart (Nov. 5), and Central Connecticut (Nov. 6) play in Loretto. The regular season closes with a trip to Brooklyn against LIU and St. Francis Brooklyn (Nov. 12-13).

The top four teams in the regular-season standings will advance to the NEC Tournament the following weekend on the home floor of the No. 1 seed.

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