WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
>> Saint Francis men's volleyball will be playing Purdue Fort Wayne and Lincoln Memorial at the Harvard Invitational hosted by Harvard University Jan. 31-Feb. 1. Both matches will start at 4:00 p.m.
>> This weekend's matches with the Mastodons and Railsplitters will be the last of the Red Flash's eight-match road stretch to start the season. In the month of February, four of their five matches will be at home.
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Game Notes
THE WORD ON PURDUE FORT WAYNE & LINCOLN MEMORIAL
Purdue Fort Wayne is 3-2 to start the 2025 campaign, including two straight wins over LIU and Lees-McRae. The win versus the Sharks on Jan. 23 came in a five set thriller where the Mastodons won by a set four final score of 31-29 and a 17-15 set five score. Axel Melendez Watts leads the Mastodons in kills with 69. He has been assisted by setters Hunter Hopkins and Andrej Polomac, who have 97 and 81 assists, respectively.
Defensively, libero Andrew Mayer has the most digs with 31. Casey Lyons and Logan Muir are one and two in blocks with 11 and 10, respectively.
Lincoln Memorial is currently a perfect 5-0 to start 2025. This includes a series sweep over the University of Charleston, a team that Saint Francis will have to play on March 1, Jan. 17-18. The reigning Independent Volleyball Association champions are led in kills by Axel van Baars (53) and Matthew Gentry (48). Gentry is tied for eighth in the country in blocks per set with 1.316, tied for ninth in total blocks with 25, and is second in solo blocks with 11.
Setter John Luers engineers the offense with the fourth-highest assists per set average across Division-I and II men's volleyball at 10.84. Luers is 11th with 206 total assists and also leads the way defensively with 36 digs.
LAST TIME WE MET THE MASTODONS & RAILSPLITTERS
Saint Francis and Purdue Fort Wayne will be competing against each other for the 17th time. The Mastodons lead the all-time series, 16-7, including a 3-2 win at Gates Sports Center on Feb. 2, 2024. The last Red Flash win came on Jan. 29, 2022, when they defeated Purdue Fort Wayne on their home floor in five sets.
Saint Francis and Lincoln Memorial have only played each other once, with the Railsplitters coming out victorious in a 3-2 decision on Jan. 25, 2020.
LAST TIME OUT
Saint Francis were defeated by No. 18 Princeton and NJIT in their trip to New Jersey Jan. 24-25. The Red Flash lost to the Tigers in a five set thriller while the Highlanders won the second match in three sets.
Andrew Deardorff was named First Point/Northeast Conference (NEC) Player of the Week and prime performer after notching back-to-back matches of 12 kills. The senior outside hitter also compiled a season-high four service aces and four blocks against the #18 Tigers. Overall, he recorded seven aces through both matches to bring his season total to 13. He is also second on the team in kills with 61.
Kyle Charles earned his second First Point/NEC Men's Volleyball Rookie of the Week after totaling 57 assists, 14 digs, seven kills, three blocks, and one service ace. The freshman setter recorded season-highs in digs (10) and kills (6) during the Princeton match. His 30 and 27 assists he tallied in both matches, respectively, moved his season total up to 138 assists through six matches.
Michael Mosbacher leads the squad with 63 kills. The senior opposite notched a team-high 14 kills versus the Tigers and registered eight the following day.
Richard Kaminski is first on the Red Flash in digs with 31. The senior libero racked up 11 digs against Princeton. It marked the second straight time he posted 11 digs after doing it on Jan. 18 versus Rockhurst.
Middle blockers Nicholas Lynch and Sam Lane are the leaders in blocks with 13 and 12, respectively.
NEXT UP FOR FLASH
Men's Volleyball will face No. 17 Penn State in a home-and-home series Feb. 14-15. The first home match of the 2025 season for the Saint Francis will be on the 14th at 7:00 p.m. The following day's match will take place at Penn State's Rec Hall at 4:00 p.m.
