FAIRFIELD, CONN. (November 16, 2014)—The Sacred Heart women's volleyball team fell to Central Connecticut State University 3-0 Sunday afternoon in the William H. Pitt Center on Senior Day. Tori Kemper (Banks, Ore.) and Makayla Dole (Cypress, Calif.) led the match with 14 and 11 kills respectively as the Pioneers finish the 2014 season 9-19 over and 4-10 in Northeast Conference play.

Sophomore Sarah Krufka (Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.) got the Pioneers started on the right foot sending the first point of the match down for a kill and sparking a 4-0 run. Thanks to strong defense from Ana Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), who recorded nine digs in the set, SHU held onto the lead throughout most of the set. CCSU's offense turned it on late in the set chipping away at Sacred Heart's lead with an 8-1 run which tied the game at 23. Kemper halted the streak moving the Pioneers to set-point with a kill. The teams exchanged kills knotting the score at 24 and 25 before the Blue Devils strung together two points for the win.

Errors hurt the Pioneers second set as SHU only managed 14 points against CCSU.

The Pioneers once again jumped out to a lead in the third set, 5-2, as Kemper and Alissa Young (La Verne, Calif.) combined for four kills behind Katie Direnzo's (Shelton, Conn.) strong serving. Little by little the Blue Devils worked their way back into the game tying the score at 11 and taking their first lead on SHU errors. The teams battled back and forth exchanging the lead until CCSU managed a quick three-point run for a 20-18 lead. The Blue Devils expanded their lead to four points on set-point, 24-20. SHU rallied with the threat of losing the set behind a trio of kills from Krufka, Kemper and setter Marie Zimmerman (Denver, Colo.) to bring them within one forcing CCSU to call a time out. The break proved fruitful for the Blue Devils as the Pioneers committed a service error for the final point of the set.