Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis men's volleyball earned three Northeast Conference (NEC) end-of-season awards and had four players claim a spot on the All-NEC teams, the conference announced on Wednesday.
Head Coach Mike Rumbaugh claimed NEC Coach of the Year for the third year in a row. Andrew Deardorff nabbed NEC Player of the Year and his third-straight All-NEC first team. He was joined alongside by NEC Rookie of the Year Kyle Charles and Brady Stump. Sam Lane made it onto the second team.
Rumbaugh has now three peated as Coach of the Year after leading the Red Flash to a 7-1 record in NEC play and its third-straight regular season title. Over the last three regular seasons, men's volleyball has a 31-3 against their conference foes. After beginning the season playing six teams ranked in the AVCA Top-20 Coaches Poll, the 2025 squad ended the campaign by winning 12 of their last 14 matches.
Deardorff earned his two major honors after finishing the season with 375 kills, 122 digs, 50 service aces, and 27 blocks (25 assisted, 2 solo). The senior outside hitter played all 26 matches and 94 sets. In the eight league matches, the Itasca, Ill. native was first in the conference in kills (120), kills per set (4.29), and service aces (16). He is currently seventh in aces per set across National Collegiate men's volleyball at .532.
Deardorff collected 12 prime performers, seven First Point/NEC Player of the Weeks, and one Defensive Player of the Week throughout the season. The senior outside hitter slammed down 20 or more kills in seven matches, including a career-high 26 on February 1 against Lincoln Memorial. He also piled up three or more aces in nine contests, with his best performance being seven on March 5 at Erskine.
Two double doubles were recorded by Deardorff in the last four matches. On April 11 at Daemen, he posted 19 kills and 10 digs. His second one came on the 18th versus LIU, when he tallied 22 slams and 10 digs.
After claiming a conference-record 11 Rookie of the Weeks and nine prime performers, Charles nabbed two major honors in his first collegiate season. The freshman setter became the first Saint Francis men's volleyball player to earn Rookie of the Year. He compiled an NEC-best 822 assists (10.15 per set), 96 digs, 42 kills, and 40 blocks (33 assisted, 7 solo) in 81 sets played. His assist per set total puts him right outside the top-10 in national collegiate men's volleyball at 11th.
Charles accumulated more than 50 dimes on three different occasions, including a season-best 62 on February 21 versus Dominican. The Lititz, Pa. native dished out 296 in 27 sets played against the eight conference foes on an NEC-best 10.96 assists per set. He was also fifth in blocks per set (0.74).
Defensively, Charles made a big impact. The Lititz, Pa. native tallied 10+ digs three separate times during the 2025 campaign, including a season-best 12 on March 4 at Queens University of Charlotte. He was also key around the net, piling up 20 blocks (14 assisted, 6 solo) on a fifth-best 0.68 per set in the eight conference contests.
Stump completed the 2025 campaign with 247 kills, 87 digs, 39 blocks (33 assisted, 6 solo), and 21 service aces in 83 sets to grab the first All-NEC spot of his collegiate career. Due to an injury to Nathan Zini, the junior moved to the opposite hitter spot and heated up to end the season. From Feb. 22 versus Dominican to the season finale against LIU on April 19, the York, Pa. native slammed down 177 kills (13.62 per set) and combined for 108 in the NEC contests. His kills per set of 3.79 during the eight league matches was the third-best mark in the conference.
Stump registered a career-high 18 kills two times. The first time came on March 1 versus Charleston, and he repeated the feat at FDU on March 28. The junior concluded the end-of-season stretch with 11 matches of 10 or more slams. He claimed five NEC prime performers as well.
Lane brought efficient offense with stifling defense on his way to his first All-NEC team selection, as the junior middle blocker piled up 123 kills (.414 hitting percentage) and 57 blocks (53 assisted, 4 solo). He racked up a career-high 10 kills versus Dominican (2/21) and D'Youville (3/21). He also recorded a season-high five rejections on March 5 at Erskine.
Lane collected three or more blocks in 12 matches, with four of the contests coming during league matches.
The Rochester, N.Y. native's efficiency proved to be key in NEC play, as he finished second in the conference in average hitting percentage at .379 in 27 sets.
For the second time in three years, the Red Flash had three players make it onto All-NEC first team. For Deardorff, he joins Nathan Zini as players that have achieved Player of the Year.
Men's Volleyball will play fourth-seeded FDU in the NEC Semifinals Friday, April 25 at 7:00 p.m. If they win, they'll play in the championship match against #2-seeded LIU or #3-seeded Daemen on the 26th at 5:00 p.m.
