WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis University men's volleyball falls to Daemen in the NEC Championship in four sets on Saturday (23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 20-25).
>> Nathan Zini led the Red Flash offense with 21 kills, a .340 hitting percentage, and two service aces.
>> Andrew Deardorff tallied 12 kills and six digs in an all-around effort.
>> Sam Lane was a force on defense with six blocks, including one solo. Peyton Blain racked up double-digit digs with 12.
TURNING POINT OF THE MATCH
Saint Francis took set three to cut the match deficit to 2-1. With a chance to tie the match, the Red Flash proceeded to get themselves out to a 8-7 lead in the fourth set. It would be the last lead held by the team, as the Wildcats would go on a 14-7 run to go up 21-15. Saint Francis cut the advantage down to 24-20, but a service error sealed the deal on the comeback attempt and gave Daemen the championship win.
FLASH MOMENTS
The opening set began with the Wildcats going up 14-12. The Red Flash racked up three straight points to begin a back-and-forth affair between the two teams. The home team went up 23-22 going into the final serves after a stretch of four lead changes. Daemen put an end to the exchange by finishing with a 3-0 run to win set one, 25-23.
Set two started out close, with the Red Flash opening with a 7-6 lead. Daemen would then go on a 10-3 run to go up 16-11. They'd carry that momentum by furthering the advantage to 24-17. Saint Francis scored four straight points to cut it to 24-21, but a Zach Schneider put a dagger in the rally and gave the Wildcats a 2-0 lead in the match.
The third set started out with the Red Flash getting out to a 5-1 lead. The team never trailed, going up as big as 19-14 and 21-16 to take control. Daemen attempted their own comeback with a 6-3 rally to make it 24-22, but Nicholas Lynch put an end to the set with a kill to give Saint Francis the set win.
FLASH NUGGETS
The offense accumulated 48 kills and a .313 hitting percentage. Parker was the commander of the offense with 42 assists.
In three sets of action, Joey Ferragonio recorded six kills, a .417 hitting percentage, five digs and three blocks.
Lynch put together an all-around effort, tallying three blocks, three digs, three kills and two service aces.
UP NEXT
Saturday's match concludes both teams' seasons, as the NEC does not have an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
