IPFW Downs St. Francis (Pa.) in Five Sets
LORETTO, Pa. - Led by Ivan
Matos and the Mastodon offense, the IPFW men's volleyball
team hung on to down St. Francis (Pa.) in five sets, winning 3-2
Saturday evening in Loretto, Pa.
With the win, IPFW improves to 2-2 this season, while St. Francis
(Pa.) drops to 1-1 with the loss. IPFW is 7-4 all-time against the
Red Flash. The Mastodons hit .273 on Saturday, accumulating 59
kills on 121 attempts.
In a back and forth first set, the Mastodons pulled ahead by three
at 10-7, with Matos leading the way with a kill and service
ace. St. Francis (Pa.) evened the score at 17-17, forcing a
timeout from head coach Arnie Ball.
Out of the break, IPFW came out firing and took the opening set in
extra points, winning 26-24.
The Red Flash responded in the second and third frames, pulling
ahead 2-1 in the match after winning 25-20 and 25-22,
respectively.
Down 2-1, IPFW returned to form in the fourth set, jumping out in
front 16-12 after Matos picked up five kills. Taking the lead to
set point at 24-20, Matos patiently waited for a set from Jonathon
Rivera, then delivered a powerful kill to move the match
into a fifth set.
In the final frame, the teams traded points until the Red Flash
grabbed the lead at 6-5. Down a point, IPFW tied the frame at 8-8,
then took the lead on the next point, when St. Francis (Pa.)
committed a service error. From here, the Mastodons didn't look
back.
Feeding off the fine play of Corey
Frain, who blasted two kills late in frame, the Mastodons
picked up a match-clinching kill from Phil
Peterson on set point to win the frame and match.
Matos' 18 kills led the IPFW offense, while Frain blasted 13 kills
and Peterson totaled 11. Rivera picked up 44 assists and JW
Kieckhefer earned 12 digs. As a team, IPFW made 6.5
blocks.
Fresh off the win, IPFW will return home to the Gates Sports Center
for its next match on Jan. 20, when they replay St. Francis (Pa.).
Match time is set for 7:00 p.m. EST.
