>> Game Notes
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis men's volleyball will travel to Princeton to face off against #18 Princeton on Jan. 24 and will follow it up with a trip to Newark to take on NJIT on Jan. 25.

>> The match at Princeton on the 24th will start at 7:00 p.m. at the Dillon Gymnasium. The following day's battle with NJIT will take place at 4:00 p.m. at the Joel & Diane Bloom Wellness Events Center (WEC).

>> The first match against the #18 Tigers will mark the fifth time that the Red Flash will face off against a team ranked in the AVCA top-20.

>> Princeton: Live stats, ESPN+; NJIT: Live stats, America East Network

THE WORD ON PRINCETON AND NJIT
Princeton is off to a 0-3 start to begin the 2025 campaign. The Tigers have faced off against #6 USC and #4 Hawaii twice in the team's first three matches. Mason Rice leads the offense in kills with 29 and is facilitated by 2024 All-Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) setter Henry Wedbush, who currently has 80 assists. On defense, fellow 2024 First Team All-EIVA pin hitter Nyherowo Omene has the most blocks with seven and is second on the squad in digs with 15. Libero Roan Alviar is the leader in digs with 16.

NJIT has begun 2025 with a 1-2 record. They picked up their first win of the season on Jan. 17 with a sweep over Roberts Wesleyan, a team that Saint Francis will be playing on Mar. 15, and pushed both matches against then-No. 9 Grand Canyon to four sets. The Highlanders are returning two All-EIVA members in second team outside hitter Alessandro Negri and middle blocker Andrew Fedmasu. 

Negri has led the way with 35 kills and 26 digs. Braedan Goebbert has the second highest hitting percentage in all of men's volleyball at .590. He has tallied 26 kills and also leads the team defensively with 13 blocks. Setter Bruno Figueiredo has dished out 95 assists.

THE LAST TIME WE MET THE TIGERS AND HIGHLANDERS
As former EIVA foes, Friday's match between Saint Francis and Princeton will be the 56th all-time matchup. The last time the two teams faced was in 2022, the Red Flash's last year in the conference, where the Tigers took both matches in the season series.

Saint Francis and NJIT are former EIVA rivals as well. Saturday will mark the 60th time the two schools will be playing each other. The Highlanders lead the all-time series 35-24, including their 3-2 win at DeGol Arena on Jan. 26, 2024. The teams have split the last four matchups with two wins apiece, with the Red Flash's last win coming on March 16, 2023 in Charlotte, N.C.. Andrew Deardorff registered 13 kills to help lead the squad to a 3-1 win.

LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis faced #8 Loyola Chicago and Rockhurst at Loyola Chicago's Gentile Arena on Jan. 17-18. The Red Flash dropped the first match to the Ramblers, but won the match over the Hawks in four sets on the 18th.

Kyle Charles earned his first First Point/NEC Men's Volleyball Rookie of the Week and prime performer after totaling 57 assists, six digs, three kills, two blocks, and one service ace between the two matches. The freshman setter had his best performance against Rockhurst, where he tallied 38 assists, four digs, one block, one kill and one service ace. He was the catalyst behind a Red Flash offense that registered a season-best 54 kills. 

Through four matches since Jan. 10, Charles has racked up 81 assists. He has been dishing assists to the big-3 in Michael Mosbacher (41 kills), Deardorff (37 kills), and Brady Stump (35 kills). Mosbacher also leads the team in digs with 19.

Deardorff notched his sixth career prime performer after posting 22 kills, 12 digs, three aces, three blocks (one solo), and one assist. The senior outside hitter almost secured his second career double double when he recorded 15 kills (.406 hitting percentage) and nine digs versus the Hawks. He added three service aces and three blocks as well.

Senior libero Richard Kaminski tallied a career-high 11 digs in the match against Rockhurst.

Nicholas Lynch leads the Red Flash with 10 total blocks (one solo).

NEXT UP FOR FLASH
Men's volleyball will travel to Cambridge, Ma. for the Harvard Invitational Jan. 31-Feb. 1 to take on Purdue Fort Wayne and Lincoln Memorial. Both matches will start at 4:00 p.m.