Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's volleyball team lost in its home opener Wednesday night at the Pitt Center 3-0 to the New Paltz Hawks.
Junior
Michael Comens led the Pioneers with a match-high 12 kills, hitting .400. Chris Delucie added nine kills.
Eduardo Zardo dished out 29 assists.
New Paltz (6-2) stormed out to a 10-5 lead in the first set, five different Hawks recording a kill on their first 10 points. Sacred Heart (0-6) closed to within two at 11-9 on a block by Zardo and Taylor Bloomquist. The Hawks extended the lead to four at 20-16 on a Jake Roessler kill, prompting a Sacred Heart timeout. The Pioneers rallied behind kills by Bloomquist and Delucie to get back within two, 23-21, but the Hawks traded points on their way to a 25-23 win in the first set.
The Pioneers rebounded to start the second set, taking a 10-7 lead on a Hawks error. A Roessler kill sparked a 9-0 New Paltz run with an Andy Fishman ace making the score 16-10. Fishman had five aces during the Hawks' charge to the lead. New Paltz ran away with a 25-19 win in the set, hitting .524 in the set.
New Paltz took an early 4-1 lead in the third set with a block by Roessler and Steven Woessner. A Delucie kill kickstarted a 4-1 run for the Pioneers that tied the set 5-5. With the score tied at 9-9, the Hawks went on a 7-2 run capped off by back-to-back Pioneer errors to make the score 16-11. Sacred Heart got as close as three at 23-20 on a block by Bloomquist and Delucie, but the Hawks got kills from Roessler and Woessner to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
The Hawks hit .349 for the match to Sacred Heart's .241. New Paltz had 26 digs to the Pioneers' 25, with both teams recording five blocks. Woessner led New Paltz with 11 kills, hitting .667. Anthony Bonilla added nine kills and seven digs. Christian Smith had a match-high 33 assists.
The Pioneers are back in action at the Pitt Center on Friday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. against Stevens Tech.
