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Saint Francis Finishes the Job to Claim First NEC Men’s Volleyball Championship

4/25/2026


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Loretto, PA – It has been four years in the making, but Saint Francis has finally reached the mountain top in NEC men’s volleyball.

Saint Francis made history on Saturday evening, claiming the program’s first-ever NEC title, posting a 25-17, 20-25, 25-23, 25-20 win over seconded-seeded FDU in front of a raucous home crowd at DeGol Arena.

Saint Francis outside hitter Brady Stump was named NEC Tournament MVP after racking up 24 total kills and 8 digs throughout the tournament, including a team-high 13 kills in the championship match.

In the first set, SFU dominated from start to finish. The Red Flash led 7-5 early on, then went on a 7-1 run capped by a kill from Stump. FDU would fight back but could not close the gap and SFU took the first set, 25-17, finishint with a red hot .500 hitting percentage.

The second set was a back-and-forth affair at the start. With FDU leading 7-6, the Knights turned it on and opened up a seven point lead thanks to an 8-2 run that featured four kills from Jamal Ellis. SFU closed the gap and pulled to within four points, but the Knights ultimately took the second set, 25-20, to tie things up.

After each team took a turn dominating their respective sets, the start of the third set was evenly matched with neither team leading by more than two points. Down 12-10, SFU went on an 8-1 run to take an 18-13 lead. The Knights did not go quietly, pulling to within a point, before SFU closed out the third set, 25-23.

The fourth set was almost a carbon copy of the third, with neither team leading by more than two points until later in the set when Saint Francis took a 20-17 lead. The Red Flash eventually took the fourth set, 25-20, and with it the NEC title.

SFU received a lift from Brayden Gall, who finished with eight kills and a .636 hitting percentage. Nathan Zini and Cole Dorn added 10 kills apiece, while Kyle Charles recorded 42 assists to earn All-Tournament accolades.

Ellis, who was also named to the All-Tournament team, led all players with 19 kills while fellow Knight Baboloki Silwane posted a match-high 43 assists.

SFU won the battle of service aces 6-4 and digs 36-35.

Saint Francis will find out who their next opponent is on Sunday, April 26 at 4:00 pm ET during the NCAA Selection Show, which will stream live on NCAA.com. Opening round matches will be played on Friday, May 1.

All-Tournament Team Brady Stump, SFU (MVP) Kyle Charles, SFU Richard Kaminski, SFU Jamal Ellis, FDU Rayjan Suarez Palacios, FDU Andre Mills, UMES Kale Spencer, LIU