SMITHFIELD, R.I. – After not being able to advance to the NCAA Tournament in the spring following a regular season championship, the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball  team would not be denied in the fall. Saturday the Pioneers toppled the tournament host Bryant, 3-1 (21-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-19), to win their third Northeast Conference championship in a row.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 19-9 
Bryan: 21-11
 
Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek (SHU): 31 assists, 10 kills, 18 digs
Olivia Fairchild (SHU): 12 kills, 4 blocks
Dominique Felix (SHU): 10 kills, 17 digs
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers wait to find out who they will face in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. The selection show is November 28 on ESPNU.
 
Of Note:
The Pioneers placed three on the all-tournament team, including tournament MVP Sarah Ciszek. Also earning a spot on the squad was Olivia Fairchild and Dominique Felix. 
 
Sacred Heart took advantage of numerous Bryant errors as the Bulldogs hit .124 with four service errors and six blocking errors.
 
SHU also did its part on defense, recording 93 digs, the second-highest total of the year. Five different players had 10 or more, topped by Jasmine Rogers' team-high 20.
 
The Bulldogs got the opening set, but it was all Sacred Heart from there. Two Bryant errors broke an 18-18 tie in set two that the Pioneers would not relinquish.
 
The turning point in set three was a 3-0 run that featured kills from Mackenzie Eford, Reghan Palanchi and Felix. Eford had three-straight kills during a 4-0 run to put the set away.
 
Fairchild and Palanchi had two kills to start a similar run in the fourth set then the Pioneers closed out the championship with a 4-0 run.
 
Ciszek had her second triple-double in as many days with 31 assists, 18 digs and 10 kills. Fairchild led the team with 12 kills and Felix notched her second double-double of the tournament with 10 kills and 17 digs.