Men's Volleyball | 3/12/2026 10:56:00 AM
Friday, March 13 | UMES | Loretto, Pa. | DeGol Arena | 6 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
Saturday, March 14 | UMES | Loretto, Pa. | DeGol Arena | 5 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
OPENING SERVE VS UMES
Saint Francis faces University of Maryland – Eastern Shore (UMES) for the first time. This is the third new program that head coach
Mike Rumbaugh added to the 2026 season. The Red Flash are looking to end the match with a 2-0 sweep at home.
THE WORD ON THE HAWKS
The Hawks are starting their Division I season out with a 12-5 record, playing 2-0 in conference. So far, they have beaten the University of Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras, Virginia Wesleyan University, Erskine College twice, Dominican University of New York twice, Thomas More University, Kentucky State University, Roberts Wesleyan University twice, and D'Youville University twice. They fell to George Mason University, Northern Kentucky University, Oakland City University, and Central State University. UMES brought in two very important freshman that have helped them excel this season. The first is outside hitter Tristan Rowley who has earned three NEC Rookie of the Week awards since starting. Rowley currently has 152 kills with a .404 hitting percentage. The second player is Chase Valentine, a middle blocker who has 121 kills, 80 blocks, and a .430 hitting percentage. Valentine has claimed five NEC Defensive Player of the Week awards and three NEC Rookie of the Week awards.
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
Saint Francis will continue its home stretch on March 20 and 21 against Daemen. The Friday game will be at 6:00 p.m. and Saturday will be at 3:00 p.m.
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 two-time NEC Player of the Week has recorded 176 kills, 63 digs, 28 aces, and 14 blocks.
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 66 kills, 28 blocks, 15 digs, and a hitting percentage of .385.
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 332 assists, 46 digs, 17 kills, and 12 blocks.
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 41 digs and 14 assists 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 graduate student has 103 kills, 64 digs, 13 blocks, and 12 aces in his return to volleyball.
WELCOME TO THE LO'
Three freshman are looking for their collegiate debut this weekend:
Gianluca Gomez (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic/Saint Joseph Metuchen),
Alexander Owens (Tuscon, Ariz./Salpointe Catholic), and
Andre Pimienta (Los Angeles, Calif./Wisebum Da Vinci).
Nate Duff (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) had his first collegiate start again BYU where he collected four digs and a kill. He has registered 13 digs and one kill this year.
Jack Wolgemuth (Lebanon, Pa./Cedar Crest) had six digs in his collegiate debut in the win against Northern Kentucky. After this weekend, he recorded 64 digs and 7 assists in total this season.
Derek Piatek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mars Area) had his collegiate debut in the win against Northern Kentucky with an ace.
Tate Myatt (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) recorded his collegiate debut in a win against Roberts Wesleyan with a kill. He has four kills, one block, and one ace.
Luke Colquette (Highlands ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) had his collegiate debut against Hawaii with a kill. He has had eight kills and one dig so far this season.
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.
