The Sacred Heart women's volleyball team opened up NEC conference play today taking on St. Francis Brooklyn. The Pioneers took the match 3-1 to improve their record to 7-6 (1-0).

The Pioneers had a slow start in the match, trailing 4-12 early in the set. Allison Riggs managed to get the team back on track with a mix of offense and a service ace to close the gap to 8-13. This was as close as the Pioneers would get the first set as they went on to fall 25-14.

Liisel Nelis led the second set with an ace for the Pioneers and it was all uphill from there. Senior Libero Ana Gonzalez served 8 consecutive points to put the Pioneers ahead 10-2, where they went on to win the set 25-12.

With the match being tied 1-1, the third set was a close finish. The score was tied 18-18 until two attack errors from the Terriers, and an ace from Makayla Dole that helped secure the win for the Pioneers. The Pioneers went on to win the third set 25-23.

The last set of the night went as planned for the Pioneers after trailing 0-2, the Pioneers held the lead the remainder of the set to take the win with a score of 25-22.

Stand out performances came from Makayla Dole who tallied 14 kills, 1 ace, 16 digs, and 1 block assist. Also playing well was Allison Riggs who contributed 7 kills, for a kill percentage of .545%, 2 aces, 4 digs, and 4 block assists.

The Pioneers are back in action tomorrow as they take on NEC contender LIU Brooklyn at 1:00pm. The Pioneers will also be back at home Tuesday as they host Stony Brook at 6:00pm.