COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Sacred Heart women's volleyball team concluded play in the Maryland Invite Saturday with a pair of losses at XFINITY Pavilion, falling to Eastern Michigan in four sets and the host Terrapins in three sets.

The Pioneers open their home slate on Friday, Sept. 2 with the SHU Hampton Inn Shelton Invitational. SHU will take on George Mason at 6 p.m. at the Pitt Center, followed by matches against Milwaukee and Dartmouth on Sept. 3.

Eastern Michigan 3, SHU 1

Sacred Heart opened the day with a four-set loss to the Eastern Michigan Eagles 18-25, 20-25, 25-19, 22-25. Sarah Krufka paced the Pioneers' offense with 14 kills and hit .250. Tori Kemper had 13 kills and a team-high 16 digs. Kiki Robinson also had a double-double with 20 assists and 10 digs. The Eagles outhit SHU .288-.172 and had 11 blocks to the Pioneers' 7.5. Jordan Smith led all players with 20 kills for EMU.

Set 1 – EMU 25-18

Set 2 – EMU 25-20

Just as in the first set, Eastern Michigan broke an early tie. The Eagles used an 8-1 run, capped off by a Jordan Smith kill, to take a 15-7 advantage. The Pioneers rallied back, getting two blocks and an ace from Lea Lieb to close within two at 20-18. The two teams traded points until 21-19 when the Eagles ran off three straight  points on kills by Jordan Smith and Kelly Ferguson to take a 24-19 lead and eventually the set 25-20.

Set 3 -  SHU 25-19

The third set was a back-and-forth affair with 11 ties and six lead changes. For the first time in the match, it was the Pioneers that ran off with an early lead. A Riggs kill and back-to-back aces from Lieb staked SHU to a 7-4 lead. Eastern Michigan came back to tie the set at 9-9. From that point, neither side held more than a two-point lead until 18-18. After the Eagles took a 19-18 lead, SHU won the last seven points to win the set 25-19. Four of the last seven points were Krufka kills as SHU hit .289 for the set.

Set 4 – EMU 25-22

Sacred Heart raced out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth on the strength of two Krufka kills and a Tori Kemper ace. The Pioneers led by as much as six points in the set before a 4-0 Eastern Michigan run got the Eagles within three at 16-13. SHU got the advantage back to six before a Smith kill started a 7-0 Eastern Michigan run that put the Eagles ahead 21-20. Kemper tied the set with a kill at 21-21, but the Eagles won four of the next five points to win the set 25-22.

Maryland 3, SHU 0

The Pioneers closed out the Maryland Invite with a straight sets loss to the host Terrapins 16-25, 14-25, 18-25. Krufka and Allison Riggs both led SHU with eight kills in the match. Riggs added three blocks. Julia Murawinski had five blocks for the Pioneers. Maryland hit .280 in the match and held the Pioneers to a .011 mark.

Set 1 – Maryland 25-16

The homestanding Terrapins got out to a 5-0 lead to start the match, getting four blocks in their first five points. SHU cut the deficit to four at 9-5 on a block by Losure and Murawinski. Maryland proved to be too much in the set, winning 25-16.  The Terrapins hit .286 in the first and held the Pioneers to a -.133. Riggs led the Pioneers with four kills in the set, hitting .600 with a solo block.

Set 2 – Maryland 25-14

The Pioneers and Terrapins traded points early in the second set, playing to a 6-6 tie. Maryland used a 4-1 run, capped off by a block from Ashlyn MacGregor and Angel Gaskin, to take a 10-7 lead. SHU got a kill from Makayla Dole and a block to get within one at 10-9, but Maryland rattled off 11 of the next 14 points to go up 21-12 before winning the set 25-14.

Set 3 – Maryland 25-18

The Terrapins hit a match-high .344 in the third set to clinch the 3-0 win.  SHU did take a 2-0 lead on kills by Kemper and Dole. However, Maryland took the next three points to take a 3-2 advantage. The Pioneers kept the set close early, staying within striking distance at 9-8. A Gaskin kill sparked a 6-0 Terrapin run to give Maryland a 15-8 lead. SHU only got as close as five points the rest of the way.