NEWARK—NJIT finally came home after nine straight matches on the road, but playing in a familiar environment wasn't enough for the Highlanders, who fell to visiting Saint Francis, 3-0, in an Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Tait Division match Friday night in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The Highlanders, who last played at home on February 25, returned to action for the first time since last weekend's two-match set at Hawaii. NJIT improved its score in each set against Saint Francis, but came up short all three times against the visitors from Pennsylvania, 30-22, 30-24, and 30-27.

The Red Flash had two hitters with double-figure kills totals, led by junior Jordan Varee's 16 kills. Alex Fortney added 11 kills for the winners. Setter Shane Conley notched 36 assists and four Saint Francis players had two service aces apiece, as the Red Flash dominated in that category, 9-3.

On defense, Nick Rivett had a match-best 12 digs for the visitors and Patrick McManamon had six blocks (1 solo, 5 assists) followed by five block assists for Conley, as Saint Francis had a 10-to-5 lead in team blocks.

NJIT's kills leader was Charles Bell, with 10, while Steve Sylvester and Robert Thomas had good individual attack percentages at .308 and .364, respectively. Rodrigo Correa finished with 28 assists.

Freshman Glen DeMagalhaes led the Highlanders on the floor with 10 digs, while Nick Jensen had three block assists to lead NJIT in that category.

The win lifted Saint Francis to 5-3 in the EIVA Tait Division, while NJIT dropped to 0-8 in the division, making it mathematically impossible for the Highlanders to tie the Red Flash with four divisional matches remaining for each team.

NJIT will be back in action quickly, hosting Juniata in another EIVA Tait Division match on Saturday at 5 pm in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.