Jan. 27, 2009
Red Flash Enter National Rankings, Prep to Host No. 1 Penn State
LORETTO, Pa. – After a successful weekend against nationally ranked opponents, the Saint Francis men’s volleyball team entered the latest Bison/AVCA Division I-II Men’s Coaches Top 15 Poll on Monday, debuting in a tie at No. 14 Loyola-Chicago.
The Red Flash have their highest national ranking in school history after sitting at 15th for four weeks during the 2007 season. It now sets up a pair of Top-15 showdowns this weekend at DeGol Arena. Saint Francis hosts defending national champion and the nation’s top-ranked team, Penn State, beginning at 7 p.m. on Friday. The Red Flash will then play host to Division III No. 1 Springfield, beginning at 4 p.m. on Sunday. The matches are free for all fans to attend.
“We are obviously very proud of getting back into the national rankings,” said SFU head coach Mike Rumbaugh, who is in his 11th season in Loretto. “However, this by no means signals that we are satisfied at this moment in time. We are coming off a tough loss against a very good Ohio State team, and we have the defending national champs coming to town. We have a lot of work to do in order to reach our goals.”
The Red Flash are 3-1 on the season with 3-0 sweeps over Nazareth and New York University, and a 3-1 upset of then-No. 13 Ball State. Saint Francis dropped a five-set heartbreaker against 14th-ranked Ohio State on Sunday. The Buckeyes now hold the 13th spot in this week’s poll.
Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine are second and third, respectively, in this week’s poll, while Southern Cal and UC Irvine are tied for fourth.