FAIRFIELD, Conn. – For the third time in a stretch of six games, the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team recovered from losing the opening set, coming back to win in four sets against Central Connecticut State on Saturday afternoon at the William H. Pitt Center. 

After dropping the opening set 25-19, SHU rebounded with a dominating 25-14 second set. The Pioneers then took the third and fourth, both by a score of 25-20. With the win, the Sacred Heart remain unbeaten in the Northeast Conference at 2-0 and have now won three straight, and five of their last six, to improve to 8-6.

Sarah Krufka led SHU with 17 kills on .484 hitting, while Tori Kemper added 12 and Karly Shockey a season-high 11. Nobody on Central had more than eight kills, as the Pioneers recorded 23 more kills, 60-37, and outhit the Blue Devils .235-.162. Sacred Heart also dominated the serve with ten service aces to CCSU's 1. Both teams had nine blocks.

Bruna Bon and Katie Direnzo both set career-highs in the victory, leading the Pioneers in digs and blocks with 19 and five, respectively. Kiki Robinson tallied a match-high 29 assists.

Sacred Heart will play its fourth straight at home on Sunday, continuing NEC play with a 1 pm match against Bryant in the William H. Pitt Center.

Noteworthy

• The Pioneers have now registered double-digit service aces six times as a team in 2015. 
• Shockey's 11 kills were tied for her second highest in the past three seasons.
• Bon's previous career-high of 16 digs came earlier in the season on  September 11 against Lehigh in five sets, while Direnzo also had five block assists on November 13 versus Bryant, also in a five set match.
• Krufka has now led SHU in kills in eight consecutive matches. Her .484 hitting percentage was her second highest of the season.

How it Happened

• Central took advantage of three consecutive Pioneer errors to cap four unanswered points for an 8-4 lead. SHU managed to cut the deficit to one, 15-14, thanks to a 4-1 run which included two Shockey kills. After a CCCSU kill to regain a two point advantage, Sacred Heart was once again plagued by errors as two in a row put the Blue Devils up four, 18-14, and the lead would get no closer than three the remainder of the set.   
• The Pioneers went ahead five twice early, at 8-3 and 12-7, but really took command after Central Connecticut got as close as three, 15-12. A Kemper kill sparked a run of seven straight points on Lea Lieb's serve, which included a Central error, two service aces, and kills by Direnzo, Bon, and Kemper.
• The Blue Devils managed to cut a six-point deficit to four, 14-10, with two straight points, but SHU scored the next three and it only got as close as four the remainder of the set. Krufka and Direnzo registered back-to-back kills before  a Lieb ace put the Pioneers ahead 17-10.
• Tied at nine, Sacred Heart scored the next four points, and nine of the next eleven, to ultimately take control of the clinching set.  Six of the nine points came from CCSU errors, including the final three, while Krufka added two kills in the run.