WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOWÂ
>>Saint Francis men's volleyball notched their first two wins of the season with sweeps over Dominican (25-13, 25-16, 25-21) and Central State (25-19, 25-10, 25-17) on Saturday.
>>Head Coach Mike Rumbaugh tallied career victories No. 299 and 300 in his 26th season with the Red Flash.
>>Senior setter Ryan Parker became the fifth men's volleyball player in program history to record 1,500+ assists after tallying 36 assists between both matches.
TURNING POINTS OF THE MATCHÂ
In the first match against Dominican, the two teams were in a tight battle at the start, with Dominican holding a 8-7 lead midway. The Red Flash took over the set afterwards, scoring four straight points and never giving up the lead. The squad took the set, 25-13, and proceeded to win the following two sets without facing another deficit.
The second match against Central State started close through the middle of the set, with Saint Francis holding just a 17-16 lead. Once again, Saint Francis responded by finishing the set on an 8-3 run to end the set. They never looked back, as they took two commanding set wins to win their second straight match.
FLASH MOMENTS
Sets two and three in the match against the Chargers started out similar to set one, with the two teams tied at four apiece. Just like the first set, Saint Francis responded with two 6-1 runs and never relinquished a lead lower than three on their way to two more set wins.
The Red Flash never trailed in sets two and three in the following match. The second set saw the team record 12 kills and a hitting percentage of .647 on its way to a commanding 25-10 set win. In set three, Michael Mosbacher recorded five of his match-high nine kills to help the team cruise to leads as high as 13-4 and 18-9. Saint Francis ended up winning set three, 25-17.
FLASH NUGGETS
Six players saw playing time for the first time this season in the doubleheader. Cole Dorn and Brayden Gall collected four and three kills, respectively, for the first kills in their collegiate career. Setter Brayden Kuruzovich tallied his first two assists as a member of the Red Flash in the second match.
Junior setter Nathan Hayes tallied 20 assists between both matches.
Saint Francis racked up a season-high nine service aces in the second match against the Marauders, including four from Brady Stump. The sophomore also registered seven kills and four digs in an all-around effort.
The NEC Player of the Week Nathan Zini had 14 kills and four service aces on the day. NEC Defensive Player of the Week Peyton Blain led the team in digs throughout, racking up a combined 13 digs.
UP NEXT
The Red Flash will have two home matches in three days next weekend, with the first one being against NJIT on Friday January 26 at 7:00 p.m.
