FAIRFIELD, CONN. – A repeat trip to the NCAA Championship was not in the cards for the Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team. The Pioneers fell in the finals of the Northeast Conference Championship, 3-2 (21-25, 27-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-9) to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday. 
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 21-10
Fairleigh Dickinson: 17-15
 
Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek: 48 assists, 9 kills, 8 digs
Reghan Palanchi: 13 kills, 4 blocks
Camryn Luginbuhl: 11 kills, 11 digs
 
Of Note:
Playing in their final match, setter Sarah Ciszek and middle blocker Reghan Palanchi were named to the all-tournament team. 
 
After letting the second set slip away, the Pioneer rallied to take set three. Trailing 21-20, Ciszek came through with a kill then her ace put SHU up 23-21. A block by Kate Anderson and Brooke Jeffrey then a Camryn Luginbuhl kill ended the set.
 
Unfortunately, the Pioneers couldn't find the offensive momentum the rest of the match. SHU hit .097 as it dropped set four and .000 in the deciding set. FDU had a .241-to-.155 hitting advantage.  
 
SHU had the advantage in digs (63-57) and kills (67-59), but the Knights got help from 52 Sacred Heart errors.
 
Senior Jasmine Rogers posted a match-high 15 kills while Palanchi followed with 13 and Luginbuhl had an 11-kill, 11-dig double-double. Ciszek handed out 48 assists to finish her career second in school history with 4,594 for her career.
 
Head coach Rob Machan will have to replace several key pieces to a team that won three NEC titles, including Ciszek, Palanchi and Emma Smallcomb.