Saint Francis of the EIVA helped the NCAA men’s volleyball world take another step towards parity Wednesday night when the Red Flash came back from 0-2 and upset visiting preseason No. 7 Stanford of the MPSF.
It preceded what will be the busiest day of the young season as 10 matches fill the NCAA slate.
Saint Francis doesn’t get any rest, because it travels Thursday to Ohio State of the MIVA.
In Honolulu, top-ranked Hawai’i is home for Emmanuel of Conference Carolinas while Grand Canyon of the MPSF plays the EIVA’s Harvard.
Five other Big West teams are in action with some intriguing non-conference matches. At UC Santa Barbara, fourth-ranked Long Beach State plays Benedictine, while No. 5 UCSB takes on the MPSF’s Concordia. No. 8 UC Irvine is home for No. 6 Lewis of the MIVA, while UC San Diego plays host to No. 11 Loyola of the MIVA. In another Big West-MIVA match, No. 13 CSUN is at McKendree.
The MIVA’s Lindenwood is home for Mount Olive of Conference Carolinas, and Belmont Abbey of Conference Carolinas goes to Indiana Tech.
To watch those matches or any others that are being shown, go to the VolleyballMag.com TV listings page for direct links to the broadcasts.
Michael Fisher had 29 kills as Saint Francis, playing its season opener, rallied for a 15-25, 19-25, 25-19, 25-23, 15-11 victory over visiting Stanford (2-1).
Fisher, who hit .537, had two assists, four blocks and four digs. Blake Liprando had 13 kills, hit .375, and had a block and four digs. Joshua Blair had eight kills, his team’s only ace against 19 errors, and three blocks. Brandon Dunz had four kills and six blocks and Cole Corver had three kills and six blocks. SFU hit .297 as setter Roman Swabinsky had 40 assists, two blocks and four digs.
Stanford, which hit .298 and had three aces and 12 errors, was led by Jaylen Jasper, who had 24 kills and hit .356. He had two assists, three blocks and five digs. Eric Beatty had 15 kills, hit .357, had two assists, five blocks and eight digs. Will Rottman had nine kills, an assist, two blocks and three digs. Paul Bischoff had two kills, 47 assists, an ace, five digs and two blocks, one solo.
According to SFU, the Red Flash went 3-6 against ranked teams in the AVCA Division I-II Top 15 last season, beating No. 14 Ohio State and beat George Mason when it was ranked No. 13 and No. 15. SFU’s win over Stanford in 2018 was its last over a team ranked in the top 10.
Also Wednesday, King of Conference Carolinas (1-2) swept at tiny Tusculum (0-1). Suetonius Harris led with nine kills as he hit .412 in the 25-23, 26-24, 25-20 victory.
