>> We thank Joey Ferragonio, Liam Buck, Peyton Blain, Trevor Lewis and Ryan Parker for the contributions they have made to the men's volleyball program.
>> Nathan Zini led the offense with 14 kills, a .444 hitting percentage, and two aces. He also posted four digs on defense.
>> Andrew Deardorff added 12 kills, a .381 hitting percentage and one ace. The junior outside hitter tied Peyton Blain for the most digs with seven as well.
TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH
Saint Francis took sets one and two to go up 2-0 in the match. In the potential match-clinching set, set three would be a back-and-forth affair. The Knights got out to a 12-9 lead, but the Red Flash went on a 12-5 rally to make it 21-17. FDU cut the deficit to 21-20 with three straight points, but the home team waved off the comeback with a 5-2 run to take control. Lewis put an exclamation point on the set with a match-ending kill to give the squad a 3-0 sweep.
Lewis also posted a dig in set three.
FLASH MOMENTS
The opening set started off with FDU having a 12-11 advantage midway through. It would be the last time they held a lead, as Saint Francis went on a 10-4 run to go up 21-16. The Knights made it close with their own 7-3 rally to make the score 24-23, but a kill from Zini ended the comeback and gave the Red Flash a 1-0 lead in the match.
Set two was tightly-contested throughout. The Red Flash got out to an 11-8 start, but it would be the largest lead held for the rest of the match. Once FDU evened the score at 13 apiece, the score would become tied 12 different times for the remainder of the set. Saint Francis staved off three set points, including a third one that saw them down 26-25. The squad persevered by scoring three straight points, including a Ryan Parker service ace to help them go up 2-0 by a set two final score of 28-26.
FLASH NUGGETS
The Red Flash finished the regular season with a perfect 12-0 record in NEC play. It is the first time in program history that a team finished the regular season unbeaten against their conference slate.
With its 20th win on Saturday, the 2024 squad also becomes the first team since 1995 to rack up 20 regular season victories.
Brady Stump and Nicholas Lynch racked up seven kills apiece, with Lynch accumulating a .750 hitting percentage. Stump registered three digs on defense as well.
Ryan Parker's 39 assists helped lead the offense to a combined 47 kills and a .353 hitting percentage. The senior setter also tacked on two aces.
In two sets of action, Buck recorded a dig. Ferragonio added on a kill and a block in set three.
UP NEXT
The Red Flash will host the NEC Tournament as the No. 1 seed Apr. 17-20.
