LORETTO, Pa. – The 2024 regular season concluded on Saturday night in Loretto for the FDU Knights. The Saint Francis U Red Flash were able to handle the Burgundy and Blue in three sets for a second consecutive evening.
FDU finishes the regular season with an overall record of 11-14 and a 5-7 record in conference play. Saint Francis completes a perfect 12-0 season in the NEC and furthers their dominant NEC regular season championship campaign.
Offense was easy to come by early in this match. Both teams hit well over .450 in the opening set, with FDU posting a .579. However, the Red Flash were able to find four more kills and win a blazing first set, 25-23.
While the attacking percentages came down a bit in the second set, the small margin between these two teams remained the same. After FDU climbed to within one at 13-12, neither team was able to ever gain an advantage larger than a singular point for the remainder of the set. Unfortunately for the Knights, the proverbial see-saw ended with the Red Flash on top, 28-26.
The Red Flash held FDU to a .259 hitting percentage in the third. With the set tied at 17-17, the home team created a 4-0 spurt that helped them put the match away. FDU could not overcome being outkilled by seven in the final frame and dropped it, 28-26.
Jamal Ellis Carballo closed out a spectacular offensive season with 18 kills on an efficient .412 hitting percentage.
WHAT'S NEXT
The Knights will compete in next week's NEC Championship as the #4 seed starting with a quarterfinal match on Wednesday, April 17. FDU is set to face the #5 seed, which will either be Merrimack or Sacred Heart. The six-team tournament will be hosted by #1 SFU and aired on NEC Front Row.
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