LORETTO, Pa. – The Saint Francis men's volleyball team heads to the EIVA Tournament on Thursday with a semi-final matchup against the top-seeded Penn State Nittany Lions at 7:30 p.m. at Rec Hall.
 
The Flash makes its first appearance in the EIVA Tournament since 2011. Saint Francis is 5-12 all-time in the EIVA Tournament and is 0-2 all-time against Penn State in tournament play. 
 
ABOUT THE FLASH
 
The Flash ended their regular season with an 18-9 overall record and 9-5 in the EIVA, and earned the No.4 seed in the EIVA Tournament.  SFU ended the season with an impressive 13-2 home record at DeGol Arena. Eighteen wins ranks as the third-most in program history and the most wins under head coach Mike Rumbaugh. SFU went on an eight-game winning streak during the season. During that stretch, the Flash defeated two top 15 teams in Penn State and Loyola-Chicago. Over the course of the season SFU defeated a record-breaking four top 15 teams: Penn State, Lewis, Loyola-Chicago and Ball State.
 
Saint Francis fell to George Mason, 0-3, and defeated the University of Charleston, 3-0, last weekend.
 
Saint Francis had four athletes receive All-EIVA honors on Tuesday: Mike Marshman (Glenmont, N.Y./Bethlehem Central), Stephen Braswell (Manchester, Pa./Northeastern), Daniel Ford (Newtown, Pa./Council Rock North) and Jeff Hogan (Northern Cambria, Pa./Northern Cambria).

 Marshman finished the 2016 regular season as the EIVA hitting champ with a .406 percentage. He led the conference in hitting percentage for 16 consecutive weeks. The All-EIVA first teamer's .406 hitting clip is not only first in the EIVA, but also ranks 10th in the NCAA. Marshman's 1.01 blocks per set ranked tied for second in the conference.
 
Hogan, a second-team All-EIVA award winner, places third in the EIVA in kills and leads the team with 331. Hogan ranks fifth in the EIVA in digs with 173.  Braswell, a first-teamer, ranks fourth in the EIVA in kills with 326. Ford, who garnered second-team honors, averages 9.93 assists per set, which is third in the conference. Gabe Woffindin (Allentown, Pa./William Allen) team-leading 232 digs is third in the EIVA and averages 2.42 digs per set, which is fourth in the EIVA.
 
Saint Francis and Penn State split their regular season matchup 1-1.  Penn State won the first contest, 3-0, at Saint Francis. On March 18, the Flash downed the Nittany Lions, 3-1, at Penn State for Saint Francis' first-ever win against the Nittany Lions. SFU handed PSU their first conference loss at home since 1998. Penn State owns the all-time series, 37-1.
 
ABOUT THE NITTANY LIONS
 
The Nittany Lions finished their 2016 regular season with a 19-9 record and 12-2 in the EIVA, and earned the No. 1 seed in the EIVA Tournament. PSU has won 17 consecutive conference titles. The Nittany Lions dropped the University of Charleston, 3-0, and fell to George Mason, 1-3, to close out conference play last weekend.
 
Saint Francis will have to contain EIVA Co-Players of the Year and All-EIVA first-teamer Chris Nugent. Nugent finished second in the EIVA in kills per set with 3.80 and total kills with 376. The junior is third in the EIVA in hitting percentage with a .306 clip.
 
EIVA Newcomer of the Year Royce Clemens is second in the EIVA in digs per set (2.55) and lead the conference in total digs with 260. Setter Taylor Hammond earned All-EIVA first team and led the conference with 10.97 assists per set. Matt Callaway's 1.01 blocks per set is tied with Marshman for second in the EIVA.
 
 
LIVE STATS AND VIDEO
 
Live stats and video is available in the men's volleyball schedule page.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
 
Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for youth at the door. To purchase tickets contact the Penn State Ticket Office at 1-800-NITTANY or in person at the Athletic Ticket Office in the BJC, Monday thru Friday, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. or by clicking here.
 
Men's Volleyball Opens EIVA Tournament At Penn State on Thursday