Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis Men's Volleyball Head Coach Mike Rumbaugh announced the 2025 schedule. It is a 25-match slate that will feature 15 away matches and 10 at home. One of the home bouts will be held at a neutral site, with the Red Flash being designated as the home team.

"The 2025 schedule is an exciting one," Rumbaugh said. "Now that the Northeast Conference (NEC) has a bid in the NCAA Tournament, I want to face teams that I believe we will play in the tournament. We get to face several conference champions while traveling to some of the biggest cities in America."

The season will start with a two-game road trip to California, with the first being at UC San Diego on Jan. 8 at 10:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. PST. The Tritons went 12-15 and 4-6 in Big West Conference play in 2024. They were defeated in three sets to CSUN in the first round of the Big West Tournament. UC San Diego won in four sets over Saint Francis in the lone matchup in 2009.

The following match will be against the reigning NCAA National Champion UCLA Bruins on Jan. 10 at 10:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. PST. The Bruins finished the 2024 campaign with a 27-5 record and 11-1 in the Big West. It was capped off with a 3-1 win over Long Beach State in the national championship game. UCLA claimed the lone match over the Red Flash, 3-1, in 2015.

The Red Flash will next travel to Chicago, Ill. for a doubleheader at Loyola Chicago and Rockhurst on Jan. 17-18. The squad will be playing in their 17th match against Loyola Chicago, who went 19-10 and 12-4 in Midwestern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (MIVA) play in 2024. The Ramblers were beaten in four sets to Ohio State in the MIVA Tournament semifinals. The time for the match will be 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CST.

As for the second match in Loyola Chicago's Gentile Arena, Saint Francis will be the designated home team against Rockhurst. The Hawks will be playing in the fourth match of their inaugural season. Start time will be 2:00 p.m. EST/1:00 CST.

The team will return east for two matches against two former Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) rivals in NJIT and Princeton on Jan. 24-25. The 60th matchup between Saint Francis and NJIT will be at 6:00 p.m. The two teams have split the last four meetings dating back to 2022. The Highlanders went 11-15 and 3-7 in EIVA play during 2024, and lost in three sets to Harvard in the EIVA Tournament first round.

The 56th bout with Princeton the following day will be at 4:00 p.m. The Tigers finished the 2024 season 12-12, including going 5-5 in EIVA play. They were defeated by Charleston in three sets in the EIVA Tournament semifinals.

Next on the road schedule will be battles against Purdue Fort Wayne and Lincoln Memorial at Harvard's Malkin Athletic Center on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. Both start times will be 7:00 p.m. The first match with Purdue Fort Wayne will be the 24th battle between the two schools. The Mastodons went 14-12 and 8-8 in MIVA play during 2024. Their season ended in the MIVA Tournament quarterfinals to Lindenwood in three sets.

The following day's match between Lincoln Memorial will be Saint Francis's second time facing the Railsplitters. Lincoln Memorial are the defending 2024 Independent Volleyball Association (IVA) Champions after going 21-5 last year, including a 3-0 win over Thomas More in the IVA championship game.

Saint Francis will continue to face old EIVA foes when they take on the two-time reigning conference champion Penn State on Feb. 14-15. The first match versus 14th will be at Degol at 6:00 p.m. with the second happening the following day at the Nittany Lions' Rec Hall at 4:00 p.m. It will be the 59th and 60th matches between the two schools dating back to 1984. Penn State went 23-7, including 10-0 in EIVA action, in a 2024 season that was capped off with a 3-0 win over George Mason in the championship game.

The Red Flash will kick off their first home series at Degol Arena versus Dominican on Feb. 21-22, with both being 6:00 p.m. start times. Saint Francis came out on top in the schools' first matchup with a 3-0 sweep on Jan. 20, 2024. The Chargers completed their first season in program history with a 12-13 record and a 3-3 mark in East Coast Conference (ECC) play. They beat Roberts Wesleyan in the ECC Championship game in four sets.

Two more battles versus former EIVA rivals will follow on Feb. 28 and March 1 as Saint Francis will face off versus George Mason and Charleston. The first duel on the 28th will be at 6:00 p.m., and will be the 64th matchup between the Red Flash and Patriots. George Mason is coming off a 2024 season where they went 18-10, including a 6-4 record in EIVA action. They advanced to the EIVA championship game before losing to Penn State.

The second match on the 1st with the Golden Eagles will be at 4:00 p.m. It will be the 20th matchup between the two schools. Saint Francis is 14-5 all-time, including a series sweep at Charleson in 2024. The Golden Eagles went 13-16 and 3-7 in EIVA play last year. Their season ended in a EIVA Tournament semifinal loss to George Mason in three sets.  

The Red Flash will hit the road again for a two-match trip to the Carolinas at Queens and Erskine on March 4-5 at 7:00 p.m. Saint Francis holds a 6-1 record over Queens, including a 3-0 sweep at Degol in 2024. The Royals went 9-21 and 2-14 in MIVA action during the last campaign. 

The second duel at Erskine will be the second matchup between the schools, with the first being a Red Flash 3-1 win in 2014. The flying fleet finished 2024 with a 13-11 record and a 9-5 mark against the Conference Carolinas. They lost in the conference tournament quarterfinals to King University, 3-1.

After the Carolina trip, Saint Francis will face Roberts Wesleyan at Degol on Saturday, March 15 at 12:00 p.m. It will be the first matchup between the two schools. The Redhawks are in the second season and are coming off a 2024 campaign where they finished 8-16 overall and 3-3 in the ECC. They fell to Domincan in the ECC Championship game.

The Red Flash will end the 2025 campaign with four straight weekends of conference play. It will start out with a season series at home versus D'Youville on March 21-22. Saint Francis holds a 11-2 all-time record over the Saints, including a series sweep in 2024. D'Youville went 10-13 and 1-11 versus the NEC last season.

The following week on March 28-29, the Red Flash will travel to FDU for a season series against the Knights. The first outing on the 28th will be at 6:00 p.m., with the following day's match being at 4:00 p.m. Saint Francis has a 4-0 record over the program, including back-to-back sweeps in 2024. FDU went 12-15 and 5-7 in NEC play during the 2024 campaign. Their season ended in a 0-3 loss to Daemen in the NEC Tournament semifinals.

After a week hiatus, the Red Flash will travel to Daemen on April 11-12. The first match on the 11th will be at 6:00 p.m., and the following day's battle will be at 4:00 p.m. The Wildcats are the reigning NEC champions after going 20-6 and 9-3 in NEC play during 2024. Saint Francis beat Daemen 3-1 two times during the regular season, but lost in the NEC Championship game by the same score.

The final regular season series will be versus LIU on April 18-19. The times will be 6:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m., respectively. The Red Flash secured two 3-2 wins at the Sharks' home arena during 2024, and lead the all-time series 5-2. LIU completed the 2024 campaign with a 14-13 record and a 8-4 conference mark. They were beaten in the NEC Tournament quarterfinals by former NEC member Sacred Heart, 3-1.

The NEC Tournament will be held at the top seed's venue April 25 and 26. The semifinals will be held on the 25th with the championship game to follow on the 26th.

Saint Francis is coming off a 2024 campaign where they went 21-9, including a perfect 12-0 record in the NEC. It was the first time in program history that the Red Flash went undefeated in conference play during the regular season. They have gone 37-21 over the last two seasons and have been to two straight NEC Championship matches.