Oct. 14, 2006

Final Stats

FAIRFIELD, CT (October 14, 2006) - The Sacred Heart volleyball team opened the 2006 Northeast Conference portion of their schedule Saturday afternoon but came up short in the league opener falling to Saint Francis in four games. The Red Flash posted 30-28 and 30-18 wins in the first two games with the Pioneers making a spirited comeback in game three for a 30-26 win. Saint Francis regained control in the fourth and finished strong for a 30-12 win and the match.

The Pioneers jumped out in front in game one, taking a 9-4 lead in the early going. SHU continued to build on that lead and went up 20-16 and appeared in control. From there the Red Flash rattled off seven of the next eight points to take a 23-21 lead and never gave up the lead from there. SHU got to within 29-28 but a Keisha Gibbs kill ended the Pioneer rally.

After trading points in the early points in game two, SFPA grabbed the lead and control at 10-7 and never looked back. The lead peaked at 21-12 and the Red Flash cruised home to a 30-18 win. The Red Flash had nine total blocks in the second game and held SHU to a -.049 hitting percentage.

SHU found some answers in game three, leading for much of the game and withstanding a late Saint Francis charge. SHU led by 10 points twice, at 17-8 and 20-10 and looked to be heading to an easy win. Leading 23-16, the Red Flash started their run. SFPA rang off a 9-2 jaunt to tie the game at 25-25 but the Pioneers answered and rattled off four-straight points of their own and they got a SFPA service error to seal the 30-26 win.

Game four was all Saint Francis as the Red Flash never trailed and had leads of 14-7, 17-8 and 25-10 on their way to a 30-12 victory. The Red Flash added four more blocks to finish with 17 total in the match. The hit .458 in the game on 12 kills with just one error in 24 attempts.

Saint Francis (12-12, 1-0 NEC) had three players with double digit kills led by Anne Roosevelt with 17. Roosevelt posted a double double with 14 digs and hit .306 (17-6-36) in the match. Kristin Buter had 15 kills along with eight digs. Kayla Greenwalt finished with 10 kills, four solo blocks and three block assists.

The Pioneers (1-17, 0-1 NEC) got 10 kills from senior captain Charnette Porter (Framingham, MA) who also finished with three solo blocks and a block assist. Sophomore Katie Thomas (Wappingers Falls, NY) posted a match-high 23 digs while senior Justina Bell (Holcomb, KS) came away with 11 digs.

Sacred Heart is right back in action Sunday afternoon hosting Robert Morris at 2:00 pm.

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