Sacred Heart
Delaware
SHU Drops Tournament Finale to UD in FIve; Krufka and Gonzalez All-Tournament
9/19/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NEWARK, Del. – Despite bouncing back from an opening set loss to force a fifth set for the third consecutive match, the Sacred Heart volleyball team fell to host Delaware on Saturday on the final day of the Delaware Invitational. The Pioneers finished the tournament in second place with a 2-1 record after their two fifth-set comebacks yesterday, and complete tournament-play at 5-6.
Delaware took control of the final set right away, scoring the first three points and seven of the first eight. Down 7-1, SHU would manage to get within three once, at 11-8, but UD halted any attempt at a comeback with the next three points. The Blue Hens took advantage of seven Pioneer errors in the set, as Sacred Heart hit - .053 as a team.
Both Sarah Krufka and Ana Gonzalez were named to the All-Tournament team for their play over the weekend. It is the second consecutive tournament in which Krufka has received the honor. The reigning Northeast Conference player of the week totaled 52 kills for an average of 3.47 per set in the three matches. She hit .321 in the process and also registered 18 digs, 11 block assists, and five service aces. Gonzalez led SHU defensively with 55 digs during the weekend, averaging 3.7 per set. Her 25 digs on Saturday was a season-high and the third highest total of her career.
- As a team, the Pioneers set new season-highs with 81 digs and 14 block assists. The 81 digs were its most as a team since finishing with 91 against Bucknell last year on August 30.
- Krufka recorded her first double double of the season with 12 digs, one shy of her career high. She has also now led SHU in kills in five straight matches.
- With 12 kills and 13 digs, Bruna Bon now has a team-high six double doubles this season. Kiki Robinson also finished with a double double of 23 assists and ten digs.
- Lila Palmer set a new season-high with ten digs.
- SHU's .171 hitting percentage as a team was its lowest in 2015.
Inside the Numbers
- The team with the higher hitting percentage in in each set won.
- The Pioneers had more kills (56-50), assists (54-45), service aces (11-9), and digs (81-70) than the Blue Hens, but UD dominated at the net with a 14-7 advantage. Alex Swan played a part in eight of those blocks, four of which were solo.
- Delaware's Katie Hillman led the match with 17 kills, while Ariel Shonk matched Gonzalez's 25 digs.
How It Happened
- Following a UD service error to make the score 16-14 in favor of the Blue hens, Delaware scored five points in a row, four of which came on SHU errors, to take command of the opening set.
- Behind Bon's serving, the Pioneers scored the first seven points of the second set, capped by two service aces and a bad Delaware set. The Blue Hens came back with seven points of their own to get as close as one, 10-9, but three straight points by Palmer, a kill and two service aces, ignited a 6-0 run to put Sacred Heart back in control.
- Trailing 22-21, SHU closed the third with the final four points beginning with back-to-back kills by Katie Direnzo. The final score of 25-22 was the first three-point lead of the set for either team.
- With the scored tied at two, Delaware scored ten of the next eleven points to take a 12-3 lead. The Pioneers did get as close as 14-11 with a run of six straight points, but the initial deficit prove too much to overcome.
