WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis University men's volleyball will head to Teaneck, N.J. to take on Fairleigh Dickinson for the first ever Northeast Conference (NEC) men's volleyball match on Friday, Feb. 10 at 6:00 p.m.
 
>> The Red Flash will return home following its match against the Knights to take on former conference foe, No. 3 Penn State on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 7:00 p.m.
 
THE WORD ON THE KNIGHTS
FDU comes into Friday's match 3-2 overall. The Knights have not competed since back-to-back straight set losses against No. 13 BYU on Jan. 20-21. FDU is projected to finish sixth in the NEC.
 
Over the five games played this season, Jack Lydon is leading the team in the outside hitter position with 38 kills, while Rui Fernandes stands on top for the team as a setter with 126 assists and adding four service aces. Grady Hoffman and Naveen Fernando lead the Knights on the defensive end. Hoffman with 33 digs and Fernando with 21.0 blocks.
 
LAST TIME WE MET THE KNIGHTS
The Knights and Red Flash have only met once in program history with the meeting coming last season in Loretto, Pa. Saint Francis on the only meeting in straight sets.
 
THE WORD ON THE NITTANY LIONS
Penn State comes into Saturday's match 8-1 overall with its only loss coming against No. 3 Long Beach State. The Nittany Lions have played against six ranked opponents this season and only suffering a loss to one of them. Most recently, Penn State held the Big Ten/Pac 12 Challenge in University Park, Pa. The Nittany Lions came away with two four-set wins over No. 10 USC and No. 2 UCLA.
 
LAST TIME WE MET THE NITTANY LIONS
The Nittany Lions lead in the overall series against the Red Faslh with the last meeting coming in Loretto, Pa. when the two teams were conference members. Penn State won the match in straight sets.
 
The last time the Red Flash defeated the Nittany Lions was in 2017 when Saint Francis pulled out a five-set win over Penn State in Loretto, Pa., the Red Flash won the first two sets and the fifth set for the win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
The Red Flash most recently claimed its first win of the 2023 season over Alderson Broaddus in straight sets. AJ Schmidt led the team in three statistical categories in Saturday's win with three service aces, one block and 23 assists. Trevor Lewis, Andrew Deardorff and Alex Finch notched 22 kills collectively for the team in Saturday's win.

Ryan Parker leads the Red Flash in three categories over the season so far with 196 assists, 39 digs and seven service aces. Nathan Zini stands on top as the outside hitter with 93 kills on the season. Additionally, Thomas Leahey leads the Red Flash a middle blocker with 24.0 total blocks on the season.
 
UP NEXT
Following this weekend's matches, Saint Francis will continue conference play with a trip to Brooklyn, N.Y. to take on LIU on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7:00 p.m. and St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 4:00 p.m.