WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> With Sacred Heart's win over #3 LIU in the quarterfinals, Saint Francis men's volleyball will be taking on the Pioneers in the NEC semifinals Thursday, April 18 at 7:00 p.m.
>> Live stats and stream links can be found on the schedule.
THE WORD ON SACRED HEART
Sacred Heart advanced to the semifinals after a 3-1 win over the Sharks on Wednesday. The Pioneers finished the regular season 11-19 overall and 3-9 in the NEC.
Patrick Mucherino was named First-Team All-NEC after leading the NEC in kills with 427 and added on 24 service aces. Defensively, He accumulated 141 digs and 59 blocks.
LAST TIME WE MET THE PIONEERS
The two teams faced off in a regular season series at Fairfield, CT on Feb. 23-24. Saint Francis increased their winning streak to five games with a 3-1 and 3-0 win over the Pioneers. The Red Flash are 33-5 in the all-time series.
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis concluded the regular season with a 20-8 record and a perfect 12-0 in the NEC. It is the first time that a Red Flash team went undefeated in conference play for an entire regular season, and the first time they've won 20 or more matches since 1995. For his efforts, head coach Mike Rumbaugh was named NEC Coach of the Year for the second straight year.
Nathan Zini was awarded NEC Player of the Year and First Team All-NEC after tallying 373 kills and a conference-leading 59 service aces. The 59 aces are tied for the most in Division-I and II alongside Ohio State's Jacob Pasteur. The junior opposite tallied 20 or more kills received First Point/NEC Player of the Week seven times and NEC Prime Performer 12 times during the season.
Peyton Blain earned NEC Defensive Player of the Year and Second Team All-NEC after racking up an NEC-best 299 digs, the most in a single season by a Saint Francis player in program history. The senior libero earned First Point/NEC Defensive Player of the Year and NEC Prime Performer 11 times for his efforts.
Ryan Parker and Andrew Deardorff each made it onto First Team All-NEC for the second consecutive season. Parker became the fifth player in Saint Francis history to record over 2,000 career assists after posting a career-high 891 assists. The senior setter also racked up, helping him receive a First Point/NEC Defensive Player of the Week selections and seven NEC Prime Performers. Deardorff posted a career-high 257 kills and 106 digs to earn one First Point/NEC Player of the Week and three NEC Prime Performers.
UP NEXT
With a win over Sacred Heart, the Red Flash would advance to the NEC Championship to take on #4 FDU or #2 Daemen Saturday, April 20 at 4:00 p.m.
