CHARLESTON, W. Va. -- The University of Charleston Golden Eagles got their weekend off on the right foot, defeating the Red Flash from Saint Francis 3-1 on Friday evening. After dropping the first set, the Golden Eagles rallied back in the second after trailing 20-15 to take the next two. The Red Flash took the fourth set 25-22 and in the fifth and match-deciding set, Saint Francis took it home, winning 15-8 and taking the match 3-2

JUST THE BASICS
SCORE: Charleston: 2; Saint Francis: 3
LOCATION: Charleston, W. Va. – Wehrle Arena
TEAM RECORDS: Charleston (4-9, 4-9 EIVA) Saint Francis (4-14, 3-8 EIVA)

HOW IT HAPPENED
 
As the teams battled their way back and forth through the first set, it was the Red Flash who saw the first true advantage of the contest, as they led 12-9 on three straight unanswered points which forced a timeout at the hand of Charleston head coach Mike Iandolo. With the Red Flash hitting .895 out of the timeout, they immediately bounced back from a service error and went on to increase their lead to 15-10. The advantage carried throughout the first set, with Saint Francis taking the opener 25-15.
 
In the set, the Red Flash hit a whopping .750% compared to .158% for the Golden Eagles. Five attacking errors for Charleston compared to a clean sheet for Saint Francis, along with six service aces helped lead the path.
 
In the second, the beginning of the set played out much like the first, with the teams going back and forth with the set tied at eight to start it out. With neither team seeming to pull away, Thomas Leahey helped the Red Flash with a pair of kills consecutively to help push their lead to 15-13 in the set. Trailing 20-15, Iandolo was once again forced to take a timeout. Despite the hitting percentage of the Red Flash taking a dip, the team was still able to execute on nine kills at the calling of the timeout. Charleston showed some life out of the timeout, scoring six of the next eight points to cut their deficit to just one at 22-21, forcing a Saint Francis timeout. With the score tied 24-24, Ismael Sneed was able to secure a big block to give Charleston the advantage before a kill from Maarten Bartels secured the set.
 
In the third, the teams once again went at it, this time with Charleston holding the mid-set advantage at 12-9. After a pair of points from the Red Flash, Charleston took a timeout with their lead in the set sitting at 12-11. With the Golden Eagles leading 18-16, the Red Flash used a timeout. Out of the timeout, Charleston went on to take the set 25-21.
 
In the fourth, the Golden Eagles got out to an early 6-3 lead in the set and forced an early SFU timeout. The Red Flash slowly clawed their way back into the set, scoring six straight unanswered points to take a 16-15 lead, and an eventual 19-18 advantage. Controlling the serve, the Red Flash forced the Golden Eagles to take a timeout while holding a 20-18 lead. The Red Flash would take the fourth set 25-22.
 
In the fifth and match-deciding set, it was the Red Flash who got out to the early start, tallying three straight points to begin the set before forcing a Charleston timeout. Extending their lead to 10-5, the Red Flash forced Charleston to use their last timeout while going on to win the set 15-8 and taking the match 3-2.
 
UP NEXT
The Golden Eagles return to action tomorrow, as they will take on the Red Flash at 4:00 PM to finish out the weekend.
 
--UC--