Men's Volleyball | 1/15/2026 10:18:00 AM
Friday, January 16 | Northern Kentucky | Highland Heights, KY | Regents Hall | 7 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
Saturday, January 17 | Northern Kentucky | Highland Heights, KY | Regents Hall | 4 p.m. | LIVE STATS
OPENING SERVE VS NORTHERN KENTUCKY
Saint Francis and Northern Kentucky will be playing its first and second match up ever on Friday and Saturday. The Norse released that this is their first year having a men's volleyball that will be competing in Division I. Saint Francis is the first team that this new program will be facing.
THE WORD ON THE NORSE
The Norse have yet to face any opponents prior to the Red Flash. Jim Palilonis, the head coach, brought in 13 freshman, two sophomores, a junior, and two graduate students. Matt Cosgrove, one of the graduate students, transferred from Penn State as one of its outside hitters. He totaled 49 kills, 38 digs, and 29 blocks. Another veteran is outside hitter Griffin Wheatley. The junior came from Division II Lincoln Memorial and registered 154 kills, 68 digs, and 27 blocks.
PRESEASON POLL
Saint Francis men's volleyball was picked to tie first in the NEC Preseason Poll. Daemen earned three first-place votes while the Red Flash claimed two. LIU and FDU both took a first-place nod to finish in third and fourth. Following behind, the newly added teams, Manhattan and UMES finish fifth and sixth. Rounding out the poll was D'Youville in seventh.
NEXT TIME OUT
The Red Flash will host its home opener on January 24 and 25. NJIT, Daemen, and Queens of Charlotte will all compete in matches over the weekend.
RETURNERS TO TALK ABOUT
Brady Stump returns as one of the team's top leaders in kills (266), digs (99), blocks (40), and aces (25). During the 2025 campaign, the All-NEC first team outside hitter was seventh in kills per set, eighth in points per set, and 10th in hitting percentage in the NEC. So far this season, the NEC Player of the Week has recorded 17 kills, five aces, four digs, and two assists.
Sam Lane also registered 135 kills and 65 blocks, coming in eighth in blocks per set in 2025. He was named to the All-NEC second team due to his dominant blocking abilities. Lane registered a season high of five blocks against Erskine back in April. In 2026, the senior collected 11 kills, three digs, and a hitting percentage of .474.
Kyle Charles returns to collect more assists as he paced assists per set (9.97) in the NEC. He was announced as the NEC Rookie of the Year and All-NEC first team in 2025. The sophomore racked up three double double and had a season best of 62 assists versus Dominican. Charles collected 887 assists, 106 digs, 46 blocks, and 43 kills. The setter is starting 2026 off with 37 assists, five digs, and three kills.
Back as a graduate student, Richard Kaminski continues to look for digs in the backrow. The libero recorded 10+ digs seven times, accumulating 142 digs and 37 assists in the previous season with the Red Flash. Kaminski finished third in the NEC with total digs and seventh in digs per set. He registered five digs for the Red Flash to start the new season.
Nathan Zini returns after a season ending injury to compete in the 2026 campaign. In 2024, the opposite hitter was named NEC Player of the Year, All-NEC first team, and AVCA All-American honorable mention. He registered 410 kills, 125 digs, 63 aces, and 31 blocks. His 63 aces were the most across both Division I and Division II men's volleyball. The grad student has four kills and two digs in his return to volleyball.
NEC HONORS
Brady Stump, a member of the Saint Francis men's volleyball team, has been named the NEC Player of the Week.
Stump showed exactly why he deserved Player of the Week honors, even in a pair of tough losses to No. 8 BYU. He was an offensive threat, totaling 17 kills on the weekend and delivering a 12 kill performance against one of the nation's top programs. Stump also made his impact felt from the service line with five aces and contributed defensively with four digs.
WELCOME TO THE LO'
Seven freshman are looking for their collegiate debut this weekend:
Gianluca Gomez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Saint Joseph Metuchen),
Derek Piatek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mars Area),
Tate Myatt (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech),
Luke Colquette (Highlands ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista),
Alexander Owens (Tuscon, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic),
Andre Pimienta (Los Angeles, Calif./Wisebum Da Vinci), and
Jack Wolgemuth (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest).
Nate Duff (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) had his first collegiate start again BYU where he collected four digs and a kill.
ABOUT THE COACH
Mike Rumbaugh enters is 28th season as the Saint Francis men's volleyball head coach in 2026. Rumbaugh is the second head coach in program history, after Gary Evangelisto, who guided the program for the first 15 years (1984-98). Rumbaugh was named the NEC Coach of the Year for the third-straight campaign. Prior to joining the NEC, Rumbaugh and the Red Flash was a member of the EIVA for the first 24 years as a head coach. Saint Francis registered a winning overall season 10 times during this stretch and participated in the EIVA Tournament 10 times, advancing to the EIVA Championship Game four times (2006, 2007, 2016, and 2017) and winning the EIVA Hay Division twice (2001, 2005). Rumbaugh arrived in Loretto in 1998 after serving a six-year term as an assistant coach with the men's and women's volleyball teams at Mercyhurst College. Rumbaugh is a certified official by the United States of America Volleyball Association. He has served as an instructor at USA High Performance and Regional High Performance Camps, and coached the USA Continental Youth Team against domestic and international opponents at the USA Select Competition.
