Men's Volleyball | 3/5/2026 10:07:00 AM
Friday, March 6 | Stanford | Stanford, Calif. | Burnham Pavillon| 6 p.m. (PT) / 9 p.m. (ET) | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
Saturday, March 7 | Stanford | Stanford, Calif. | Burnham Pavillon| 6 p.m. (PT) / 9 p.m. (ET) | LIVE STATS | WATCH LIVE
OPENING SERVE VS STANFORD
Saint Francis will face Stanford for the fifth and sixth time since the Red Flash has been a program. It has only been three years since these two teams faced each other. In 2023, the Red Flash traveled to California and fell to the Cardinals during both matches. They lost the first match 1-3, but
Nathan Zini and
Brady Stump both collected 10 kills apiece. The second match was a 2-3 loss with Zini recording 16 kills and Stump 15. Stump is looking to continue his eight-game streak of 10+ kills.
THE WORD ON THE CARDINALS
The Cardinals are coming into this weekend 5-8 after producing a 13-15 2025 season. They ended their season during the semifinals where they fell to USC 1-3. So far Stanford has split with No. 17 UC Santa Barbara, beat Jessup, UC Merced, Concordia twice, and lost to No. 3 Hawaii twice, No. 5 UC Irvine, No. 16 Ball State, No. 6 Loyola Chicago, and No. 12 Lewis. The Cardinals brought back senior opposite hitter Moses Wagner. Wagner is currently leading his team with kills (133), aces (13), second in digs (60), and blocks (36). Another key player for Stanford is senior outside hitter Theo Snoey. He has 123 kills, 54 digs, 13 blocks, 11 assists, and six aces to aid the beginning of the season.
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 be back home after spring break to face another conference opponent, UMES. This will be Friday the 13 at 6 p.m. and Saturday the 14 at 6 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 166 kills, 60 digs, 26 aces, and 11 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 63 kills, 27 blocks, 15 digs, and a hitting percentage of .418.
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 313 assists, 44 digs, 15 kills, and 10 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 38 digs and 12 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 90 kills, 60 digs, 13 blocks, and nine aces in his return to volleyball.
NEC HONORS
Stump, a member of the Saint Francis men's volleyball team, has been awarded Prime Performer for the week. This is Stump's sixth time earning this award this season alone.
Stump turned in a strong all-around performance against LIU, totaling 34 kills across the two matches. He recorded 19 kills, 11 digs, and six aces in the win, then added 15 kills and seven digs in the loss.
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 12 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 6 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 one kill and one block.
Luke Colquette (Highlands ranch, Colo./Mountain Vista) had his collegiate debut against Hawaii with a kill. He has had two kills 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.
