FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team suffered its first conference loss of the season, as the Pioneers were swept by LIU Brooklyn (21-25, 17-25, 20-25) on Sunday evening at the William H. Pitt Center.

Julia Murawinski led Sacred Heart (8-5, 1-1 NEC) with nine kills, while Sarah Ciszek paced the Pioneers with 24 assists and 11 digs in the loss.

First Set: LIU 25-21

- LIU Brooklyn hopped out to an early 7-3 lead

- SHU battled back and cut the deficit to 10-8, capped by a kill from Alix Polk

- LIU built its lead to 23-15 after a SHU timeout

- The Pioneers cut the deficit to 24-21 after a Liisel Nelis kill, but the Blackbirds secured the set on the next point

Second Set: LIU 25-17

- LIU opened the set on a 12-5 run that was eventually halted by a Rianna McNamee kill

- The Blackbirds extended their lead to as much as 17-10

- SHU then went on a 5-0 run to cut it to 17-15, highlighted by back-to-back service aces from Lauren Middlemass

- LIU Brooklyn closed the set by taking eight of the next 10 points

Third Set: LIU 25-20

- LIU started the set taking 10 of the first 11 points

- After falling behind 18-12, Sacred Heart was able to cut the deficit to 20-16

- The two teams traded points but the pioneers were unable to get over the hump as the Blackbirds took the set and match

SHU hit .056 for the match, while LIU Brooklyn (5-6, 2-0 NEC) had a hit percentage of .188. The Blackbirds registered 43 digs in the match, while SHU recorded 43 as well.

The Pioneers will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 28, when SHU travels to Teaneck, New Jersey to take on NEC-foe Fairleigh Dickinson at 5 p.m.