Men's Volleyball | 3/26/2026 9:45:00 AM

Friday, March 27 | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | Recreation Athletic Complex | 7 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE

Saturday, March 28 | George Mason | Fairfax, Va. | Recreation Athletic Complex | 5 p.m. | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE

OPENING SERVE VS GEORGE MASON
Saint Francis faces George Mason for the 65th and 66th time dating back to 1984. Over the last five years, George Mason has won three out of five games. Every match, except in 2024, ended in a 3-0 win. When Saint Francis hosted George Mason last year, Brady Stump had a career-high 17 kills with a .467 hitting percentage. Richard Kaminski collected 12 digs to aid the Red Flash in the 3-0 win. Saint Francis is looking to add two more wins into their column against the Patriots. 

THE WORD ON THE PATRIOTS
George Mason is currently 14-7 in the 2026 season after ending with a 16-13 record last year. This year the Patriots have lost to Catawba, No. 13 Ohio State, No.2 Long Beach, No.10 Ball State, Belmont Abbey, split with Charleston, beat Merrimack, Mount Olive, UMES, Manhattan twice, No.19 NJIT, Dominican University New York, Queens, Barton, FDU twice, and Sacred Heart twice. Aidan Weltin is a returning sophomore who is leading the Patriots in kills (240) and aces (23), second in digs (99), and fifth in blocks (28). Another key player is Alexander Lillie. He leads in blocks with 65, second in aces (13), and third in kills (100). 

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 travel to New York to face a new NEC opponent, Manhattan College. On April 3, Saint Francis will play at 4:00 p.m. and Saturday, April 5 at 6:00 p.m.

RETURNERS TO TALK ABOUT
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 427 assists, 56 digs, 24 kills, and 14 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 51 digs and 15 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 137 kills, 73 digs, 17 blocks, and 14 aces in his return to volleyball.  

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 214 kills, 75 digs, 37 aces, and 16 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 88 kills, 42 blocks, 18 digs, and a hitting percentage of .429. 

NEC HONORS
Brady Stump, Kyle Charles, and Nathan Zini were all named Prime Performers after last weekends match ups. Stump delivered a standout performance to lead the Red Flash to a hard-fought five-set victory over Daemen. He paced the offense with 15 kills and added three digs, stepping up in key moments to push his team over the top in a tightly contested match. He carried that momentum into the following day, once again playing a pivotal role in a dominant three-set sweep of Daemen. Stump tallied 10 kills while applying constant pressure from the service line with four aces and chipped in two digs defensively. His back-to-back performances were instrumental in securing the pair of wins.   
 
Sophomore Charles directed the Red Flash offense for both wins over Daemen, orchestrating the attack with 36 assists. He added five digs defensively and contributed two assisted blocks at the net, playing a crucial role in keeping the team composed and efficient throughout the back-and-forth battle. He followed up with another strong performance in the three-set sweep the next day, dishing out 35 assists while also making an impact offensively. Charles recorded four kills on an impressive .600 hitting percentage, going 4-for-5, and added two digs.   
 
Zini played a key role in the Red Flash's five-set victory over Daemen, contributing a strong all-around performance at the net. He finished with 12 kills, added four digs on the defensive end, and chipped in two assisted blocks. He followed that effort with another solid showing in the Red Flash's three-set sweep the next day. Zini recorded 11 kills, two digs and two assisted blocks, while also adding an ace from the service line. His consistency across both matches helped anchor the team's success in the back-to-back victories over Daemen. 
 

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 19 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 81 digs and 8 assists in total this season. 

Derek Piatek (Pittsburgh, Pa./Mars Area) had his collegiate debut in the win against Northern Kentucky with an ace. This season he has two aces, three digs, and one kill. 

Tate Myatt (Chicago, Ill./Lane Tech) recorded his collegiate debut in a win against Roberts Wesleyan with a kill. He has five kills, three blocks, one assist, and one ace.  

Luke Colquette (Highlands ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) had his collegiate debut against Hawaii with a kill. He has had 21 kills, seven digs, and three blocks 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.