Red Flash Take Advantage of Winless Lakers, 3-0
(30-28, 30-25, 30-27)
Loretto, Pa. – In match two of Saint Francis’ three game weekend homestand, the Red Flash (2-4) emerged victorious after a three-game sweep of the winless Mercyhurst College Lakers (0-7).
Sophomore outside hitter Jordan Varee (Meadville, Pa./Conneaut Valley) once again led the entire match with 18.5 points and 17 kills. Varee contributed on the defensive lines, also, coming up with seven defensive digs; most of any Red Flash spiker in Saturday’s contest. Sophomore middle hitter Dave Reilly (Yardley, Pa./Pennsbury) was a major factor in SFU’s second win, also. Reilly tallied 13 kills and six digs en route to a 13.0 point performance. Sophomore middle hitter Patrick Mcmanamon (Huntingdon, Pa./Huntingdon) earned himself a team-high two services aces, six kills and three digs as the Flash swept the Lakers away in Saturday afternoon’s gala. Junior setter Shane Conley (Pittsburgh, Pa./ North Allegheny) played to his strengths and totaled 47 sets in SFU’s second victory.
The Red Flash had trouble finding the inbounds line in Friday night’s match-up against Penn State University, but today, the Flash were much more accurate in their attacking percentage, as they outdid Mercyhurst .375-.314 and .400-.200 in games one and two. The Lakers countered by hitting .333 to SFU’s .257 in game three, despite the loss. In regards to the offensive battles, SFU was triumphant in kills (58-43), total swings (115-100), sets (55-44) and service aces (5-2). Defensively, both teams were almost even in digs, as Mercyhurst handled 34 digs and Saint Francis had 33. The Red Flash were outdone in the blocking department, as the Lakers totaled 9.0 to SFU’s 3.5.
“This was a must win game for our boys today,” asserted 10th year head coach Mike Rumbaugh. “Last night against Penn State, I think we played well, but we were certainly overmatched. Today, we had a more favorable match up and took advantage of the areas we were stronger in.”
McManamon started off Saint Francis with two stern kills, giving the Flash the early momentum in game one. Sophomore outside hitter Nick Rivett (Pittsburgh, Pa./Fox Chapel) followed suit, leading to SFU’s first service ace of the match off of McManamon’s gyrating whack. Sophomore middle hitter Pete Freyer (Orchard Park, N.Y./Orchard Park) earned his first point of the game on a full-extension kill, extending SFU’s lead 8-6 in the preliminary moments of game one. Mercyhurst closed the gap to knot it at 9-9, but Reilly tipped over a subtle point, keeping the Flash one point ahead. Freyer’s hot streak of kills expanded SFU’s lead to 17-13. Varee, Mcmanamon and Reilly teamed up for a trio or kills, holding steadfast to their four point lead, 21-17. The Lakers called for a breather in the midst of a vicious slew of Varee serves with the score reading 24-19 in favor of the Flash. The timeout caused Varee to turn the ball over on a service error, but he returned the favor after smashing a kill right through the Lakers’ defense. Mercyhurst crawled back into the game due to consecutive SFU attacks falling short of the net, as the Flash held on 28-26 in final moments of game one. Varee earned yet another kill and the Flash took game one after an errant swing from the Mercyhurst frontline by a close count of 30-28. Varee paced the Flash with five kills, but McManamon hit for .800 (4 of 5) in game one’s triumph. Varee also acquired five digs. The Flash outhit the Lakers .375 to .314.
McManamon and Varee catapulted Saint Francis to a 6-2 lead in game two, rallying together for a flurry of points. Rivett chimed in for a kill himself, bring the contest to an 8-6 count. Mercyhurst drew the game to an all eight affair, but Varee once again asserted his potency and unleashed another nasty kill. Mercyhurst achieved their first lead of the match, but McManamon changed that with a point of his own. The Lakers notched the next three points off of a block and a supple kill, but Varee snapped SFU’s scoreless streak with a laser. Freyer and Varee met the Lakers at the front of the net with a big stuff to claw closer into Mercyhurst’s three point lead, 16-13. Conley and Freyer doubled up for another SFU cram, leading to a Lakers’ timeout as the tilt became even at 17 all. Varee sent over a spike with some english on it, turning out to be too much for the Lakers to handle. SFU took command, 21-20. Freyer’s aerial aptitude earned him another point for the Flash, pushing the game to a 26-23 situation. Reilly sent two consecutive missiles over the net, forcing the Lakers to take a timeout. Varee mimicked Reilly and SFU claimed game two in the end 30-25 after Lakers’ freshman Jonathan Gurr made an error on his first serve of the game. The Red Flash bettered the Lakers’ attacking clip, .370 to .246 despite being outblocked 6.0-3.5.
Mercyhurst leaped out to an early 4-2 lead after a few nice serves from Mercyhurst’s Tim Wagner and several serving errors from SFU’s vantage point. Conley palmed a kill over the net to draw the score even at five and Mercyhurst’s Gary Coad misplayed SFU’s attack on the subsequent point. The Lakers’ next kill attempt hit the antenna and the Flash went into a huddle leading 8-6 after the Lakers’ called for another timeout. Freyer phanagled his first service ace over the net after the break, but the Lakers countered with two blocks, allowing game three to read, 9-8, in favor of the Flash. Rivett affirmed his presence in the match with a sadistic smack, giving SFU a three point advantage, 13-10. The Lakers strung together a two point streak a few plays later, trimming SFU’s lead to one, 15-14. Varee came on strong in the middle part of game three, slapping the leather right at Mercyhurst, continuing the back-and-forth battle, leading to a 19-17 SFU advantage. Freyer supplemented Saint Francis’ attack with a few useful kills, carrying the lead to 23-19. Varee lathered on an ace, and the Flash gathered a six point advantage, 26-20. Reilly turned game three into match point with an effortless kill right over the heads of two Lakers’ middle hitters, and Varee fittingly finished off the Lakers by a final score of 30-27 in spite of Mercyhurst putting together five unanswered points while the Flash held at 29.
The Red Flash (2-4) stay at home for their third consecutive home game to take on the Mount Olive College Trojans. The Trojans are 3-2 on the season and will play Juniata College on Saturday night. Saint Francis does battle with Mount Olive College on Sunday, January 27 at 1pm at DeGol Arena.