CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Sacred Heart women's volleyball team split its two matches Saturday at the Harvard Invitational, defeating the host Crimson in five sets before a three-set loss to Stony Brook.

SHU 3, Harvard 2 (14-25, 25-16, 25-16, 11-25, 15-11) Box Score

SHU opened the day with a five-set win over the host Crimson. After a 25-14 loss in the first set, the Pioneers hit .407 in the second set to take it 25-16 and even the match at one set apiece. SHU opened the second on an 11-4 run, highlighted by three service aces from Cassandra Lew and Madi Pope. The Pioneers took their largest lead of the set at 22-12 on a block by Liisel Nelis and Gianna Scioletti. After Harvard fought off two set points, Nelis put down a kill to win the set 25-16.

The Pioneers' hot hitting continued in the third set. SHU jumped out to a 6-2 lead, getting kills from Nelis and Rianna McNamee. The Pioneers extended the lead to seven at 15-8 on a Nelis kill and a Kiki Robinson ace. Harvard would get as close as five, but the Pioneers won five of the last six points in the set. A Julia Murawinski kill clinched the third set for SHU 25-16. SHU hit .458 in the third with 13 kills and just two errors. The Crimson turned the tables on SHU in the fourth. Harvard held the Pioneers to a -.103 hitting percentage in the set, winning it 25-11 to force a fifth and deciding set. 

SHU opened the fifth by taking the first three points on kills by Murawinski and Nelis, as well as an ace by Nelis. Harvard answered with five straight points of its own, highlighted by a Maclaine Fields kill and a Mindie Mabry ace. Trailing 6-4, SHU went on a 3-0 run capped by a Makayla Dole kill to tie the set 6-6. The two teams traded points up to 9-9 when a Nelis kill and a Crimson error gave SHU an 11-9 lead. Harvard cut the deficit to one twice, but the Pioneers would take the final three points of the set to win it 15-11 and the match 3-2.

Nelis led all players with 15 kills, hitting .278 and adding 12 digs. Makayla Dole had 12 kills, 10 digs, and two blocks. McNamee led SHU with four blocks, adding eight kills. Robinson had a double-double of 38 assists and 12 digs.

Stony Brook 3, SHU 0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-17)

It was all hands on deck for Sacred Heart (2-4) in its second match of the day, as 13 players saw action against Stony Brook (3-4) just over an hour after the five-set thriller against Harvard.

The Pioneers jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the first set, getting kills from Murawinski and McNamee. The Seawolves responded with a 7-1 run to take an 8-6 lead. SHU got back within one at 10-9 on a Nelis kill, but that would be as close as the Pioneers would get. Stony Brook hit .344 in the first set to take it 25-18. 

The second set was a hitting display of epic proportions. The Pioneers hit .355 with 15 kills to only four errors. Stony Brook topped that with a .522 hitting percentage, putting down 14 kills with only two errors.  SHU led 12-11 when a service error sparked a Stony Brook 8-2 run that put the Seawolves ahead 19-14. The Pioneers would only get as close as four the rest of the way, falling 25-19.

Sacred Heart jumped out to a 5-2 lead in the third, but Stony Brook rallied back to tie the set 10-10. With the set tied 12-12, an Emily Costello kill sparked a 5-0 Stony Brook run to put the Seawolves ahead 17-12. Stony Brook went on to take the set 25-17 and the match 3-0.

Nelis led SHU with 11 kills and eight digs against Stony Brook, and was named to the Harvard Invitational All-Tournament Team on Saturday.

SHU will host Fairfield in its home opener on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at 6 p.m.