FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The top hitting team in the Northeast Conference, the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team uncharacteristically could not find its rhythm Friday against Saint Francis University. The Red Flash came back to win the final two sets and defeat the Pioneers, 3-2 (19-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-23, 15-9).
Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-7, 2-2 NEC
Saint Francis: 7-8, 2-1 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek (SHU): 15 kills, 36 assists, 14 digs
Dominique Felix (SHU): 13 kills, 11 digs
Madi Tyus (SFU): 26 kills, 10 digs

Up Next:
Sacred Heart is back at home October 8 to face Central Connecticut State at 7 p.m.
 
Of Note:
In addition to not being able to get its own offense going, SHU had trouble slowing down Saint Francis as the visitors hit .293 – the second-highest by a SHU opponent this year behind UC Irvine – while the Pioneers managed a .202 rate.
 
Sacred Heart took control late in the third set to grab a 2-1 lead thanks to kills from Reghan Palanchi, Dominique Felix and Mackenzie Eford. 
 
The hosts dug themselves a 10-2 hole in the fourth set, but got back to 22-21 on a Sarah Ciszek kill. However, the Pioneers could not complete the comeback as the Red Flash forced a fifth set.
 
Back-to-back Ciszek kills gave the Pioneers an early 3-1 lead in the deciding set, but Saint Francis responded with a 7-1 run to take control of the match.
 
Three Pioneers had double-digit kills, topped by Ciszek who produced her fourth triple-double with 15 kills, 36 assists and 14 digs. She leads the nation in that category. Felix had a 13-kill, 11-dig double-double and Palanchi chipped in 10 winners.
 
Leading all players was SFU's Madi Tyus as she accounted for 41 percent of the team's offense thanks to 26 kills. Maggie Means had a match-high 24 digs. Aubrey Deputla amassed eight blocks to give SFU an 11-5 advantage at the net.