HARTFORD, Conn. – During the early part of the season, the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team has been pulling out the close sets on its way to victory. Unfortunately, on Saturday Brown University was the one coming through down the stretch as the Bears defeated the Pioneers, 3-1 (28-26, 25-21, 24-26, 26-24).

Records:
Sacred Heart: 6-5
Brown: 6-3

Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek: 41 assists, 10 digs, 8 kills
Dominique Felix: 12 kills, 12 digs
Emma Smallcomb (SHU): 20 digs

Up Next:
Sacred Heart starts NEC play Friday when it travels to Bryant for a 7 p.m. match up.

Of Note:
It was a highly contested match with three of the four sets going beyond 25 points. Brown had a slight .193-to-.143 hitting advantage and 17-11 margin in blocks.
 
SHU took a 26-25 lead in set one but committed a pair of errors to hand Brown the set. Sacred Heart seized control of set three thanks to a 6-1 run that included two aces by Sarah Ciszek and one from Jasmine Rogers. SHU tied the fourth set, 24-24, on a Brown error but the Bears came through with two kills to finish the match.
 
Five Pioneers had eight or more kills, topped by Dominique Felix with a dozen. She added 12 digs for the double-double. Reghan Palanchi followed with 11 winners and eight blocks. Ciszek also had a double-double with 41 assists and 10 digs. Libero Emma Smallcomb produced a match-high 20 digs.