WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>>Saint Francis University men's volleyball improved to 7-0 in conference play after Thursday night's sweep over Merrimack (25-22, 25-20, 25-22).
>>Nathan Zini led the way for the Red Flash with 14 kills, six digs, two service aces, and two blocks.
>>On defense, Peyton Blain racked up nine digs while Nicholas Lynch contributed four blocks.
TURNING POINT OF THE GAME
Saint Francis took the first two sets to go up 2-0. With a chance to end the match in set three, the Red Flash jumped out to a 10-6 lead and kept their advantage at 17-14. The Warriors responded with a 4-1 run to take their first lead of the set at 18-17.That advantage would be the last time the visiting team held the lead, as the home team rallied with a 7-4 run.
An Andrew Deardorff kill helped wrap up the match for Saint Francis with a 25-23 set three victory.
FLASH MOMENTS
The opening set saw Saint Francis get out to a blistering 4-1 start. They'd extend their lead as high as 17-11, but Merrimack went on a 10-6 run to cut their deficit to 23-21. With a potential comeback on the horizon, the Red Flash put an end to that thanks to a Warriors' attack error and a Zini kill. The team would pull out a 25-23 set one win.
Set two was a back-and-forth battle between the two squads, with the score being tied seven different times. With the score knotted up at 16, the Red Flash would put an end to that close contest with a 9-4 run to take control. Zini and Sam Lane recorded two kills apiece during the run, and a kill from each helped Saint Francis go up 2-0 by a final score of 25-20.
FLASH NUGGETS
Ryan Parker, Brady Stump, and Michael Mosbacher joined Zini by each tallying two service aces. The Red Flash would have a 10-1 advantage in aces over the Warriors.
Parker had similar defensive stats to Zini as well, registering six digs and two blocks apiece. Deardorff, Mosbacher, and Stump each racked up two rejections as well.
Lane posted an all-around stat line of seven kills, a hitting percentage of .500, and three blocks.
Blain now sits at 256 digs on the season, 12 away from achieving the most digs by a player in a single season. He would surpass Zach Nanni, who accumulated 267 in 2007.
UP NEXT
Men's Volleyball has another match against the Warriors Friday night at 6.
