LORETTO, PA--Saint Francis U Michael Fisher registered a match-high 19 kills to lead the Red Flash in a 3-0 sweep over NJIT on Friday evening in EIVA men's volleyball action.
Saint Francis U (10-6, 4-2 EIVA) won in straight sets 25-21, 25-22, 25-22 paced by Fisher's 19 kills and six digs, hitting an impressive .500 for the match.
Cole Thompson and Patrick Bryan each recorded eight kills for the Red Flash while BJ Blair piled up a match-high 37 assists.
Defensively, Ryan Alu paced the match with nine digs and Cole Carver combined for six block assists.
NJIT (4-8, 0-4 EIVA) was led by sophomore outside hitter
Alvaro Gimeno with 13 kills while middle
Enrique de Diego Garcia combined for a .571 hitting percentage with four kills on seven attempts.
Piotr Namiotko recorded nine kills and six digs for the visitors.
Gimeno and
Luca Berger each combined for four block assists while Namiotko,
Jens Feldthus and
Tyler Brandow added six digs.
A back-and-forth affair in the first frame, Saint Francis U broke a 19-all tie, scoring four straight points, taking a 23-19 lead. NJIT scored two consecutive points but the Red Flash closed out the set on a short 2-0 spurt for a 25-21 victory.
The second frame started out just like the first, with the score knotted at 10-10, and Saint Francis U, using a 3-0 run to take a 13-10 lead. NJIT rallied back to tie the game at 15-15 but the home team used a 6-2 spurt to regain the lead at 21-17. The Highlanders slimmed the lead to two twice late, the final at 24-22, but the Red Flash scored the final point, holding on to a 25-22 win.
Saint Francis U scored the first four points and extended its lead to 6-2 after a Highlander error to begin the third set. NJIT rallied back to tie the set at 8-8 and took its first lead of the game, using a 4-0 run for a 12-9 lead. The set saw another tie at 15-all, with Saint Francis U using a 5-1 spurt and taking a 20-16 advantage. Both teams saw another tie at 21-21 and the home team closed out the frame on a 4-1 run to secure the sweep with a 25-22.
NJIT will have a quick turnaround at Penn State on March 2. First spike set for 7pm.
