FAIRFIELD, Conn. – In the final game of the regular season, the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team kept the momentum going into next week's Northeast Conference Tournament. The Pioneers downed Merrimack, 3-0 (25-10, 25-18, 25-11), on Saturday.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 17-9, 11-3 NEC 
Merrimack: 0-29, 0-14 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek (SHU): 24 assists, 9 digs, 5 blocks
Olivia Fairchild (SHU): 12 kills, .588 hitting %
Hunter Riedel (SHU): 9 kills, .538 hitting %
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers travel to Bryant for NEC Tournament next weekend as the number two seed. SHU will face LIU in the opening match.
 
Of Note:
Sacred Heart had one of its best offensive matches of the year, hitting a season-high .531 with only seven errors. The Pioneers also had a 30-13 advantage in digs, which limited the Warriors to a .053 rate.
 
Set two was the only frame where the Warriors threatened the Pioneers. Merrimack pulled within 15-13, but Sacred Heart went on an 8-2 run to put the set away.
 
Five different players had five or more kills, topped by Olivia Fairchild's match-high 12 winners to go along with a .588 hitting percentage. Sophomore Hunter Riedel produced a career-high nine kills while hitting .538.