The men’s volleyball squad’s historic season ended on a heartbreaking note when the team lost to Daemen, 3-1, in the NEC championship match at the Stokes Center on April 20.
The match opened with a highly competitive back-and-forth first set that saw the Red Flash up 23-22 before Daemen rallied for three points for a 25-23 win.
The competitiveness of the first set carried over into second. The two teams were tied, 8-8, before a 4-1 run by the Wildcats gave them some separation. Despite a late rally by the Flash, Daemen moved ahead 2-0 with a 25-21 second-set victory.
Saint Francis picked up a 25-22 win in the third set and grabbed a 5-2 lead in the fourth, but Daemen reclaimed momentum to win the fourth set, 23-15, securing the school’s first NEC title.
SFU junior and NEC Player-of-the-Year Nathan Zini finished the match with 21 kills. Sophomore Sam Lane recorded six blocks and senior Peyton Blain made 12 digs.
Despite the loss in the title match, the 2024 season will go down as one of the greatest in Saint Francis history. The team’s 21 wins is second only to the 1995 squad and the team’s undefeated regular-season conference mark (12-0) was a first for the program.
Zini led the team in points (489), kills (410), total attacks (910) and service aces (63).
On the defensive side, Blain paced the Flash in digs in 2024 with 318.
