FAIRFIELD, CONN. (January 24, 2015)—The Sacred Heart men's volleyball team fell in three straight sets to No. 14 Ball State Saturday evening. Enzo Mackenzie (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) led the Pioneers with 11 kills, but the SHU offense could not find an answer for 23 Cardinal blocks. Eduardo Zardo (Brasillia, Brazil) tallied twenty assists as the Pioneers drop to 1-2 on the season, and Ball State improves to 5-1.

The Pioneers were off to a quick 3-0 start in the first set; however, Sacred Heart would soon find the score tied at four all. After a series of lead changes, Ball State went on a four-point run to take a 12-8 lead. The Cardinals' strong blocking helped them maintain the lead in the set, as SHU called a timeout with the score at 11-16. Ray Satagaj (Rocky Hill, Conn.) was able to put down a big kill out of the timeout, and the Pioneers eventually closed the gap to one, 18-19. SHU continued to battle, but they would ultimately drop the set 22-25. Mackenzie recorded six kills in the set, but the Pioneers could not overcome the seventeen block attempts and nine and a half total team blocks of the Cardinals.

SHU was only down by two, 5-7, early in the second set, thanks to kills from Mackenzie and Satagaj. The Pioneers were still unable to break the block of the Cardinals, calling a timeout while down 10-6. Ball State's blockers continued to wear down SHU as the Cardinals improved their lead to 19-12. Chris Delucie (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and Mackenzie put down kills that brought on a four-point run by the Pioneers to narrow the score line to 24-18 with Ball State at set-point. Needing just a side-out for a 2-0 match lead, the Cardinals called a timeout to draw up a play. The planning was successful as a kill from Matt Walsh clinched the set for Ball State.

Falling behind two sets to zero, Sacred Heart had a tall task ahead of them in order to claim victory. Delucie opened the third set for the Pioneers with a service ace, but Ball State answered with two straight blocks to take a 2-1 lead in the early going. SHU could not figure out the block of the Cardinals and called a timeout after falling behind 3-6. After yet another block, Ball State took an 11-4 lead. The Pioneers could not calm the storm, even after a kill from freshman Trent Thompson (Kailua, Hawaii); the Cardinals enjoyed a 15-5 advantage. SHU's untimely errors and Ball State's wall of a blockers kept the Pioneers from chipping away at what became a 22-9 lead for the Cardinals. Ball State closed out the third set 25-11 and the match in straight sets. 

Sacred Heart hits the road for the first time this season next weekend, traveling to take on the defending National Champions Loyola on Friday and Lewis on Saturday.