FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team saw its undefeated record in Northeast Conference (NEC) play fall on Friday evening as the Pioneers suffered a 3-1 loss to FDU at the Pitt Center. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 8-12, 7-1 NEC
FDU: 8-15, 6-2 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Gaby Zovko: 33 assists, 12 digs, 8 kills, 2 aces
Kate Anderson: 13 kills, 2 blocks, .370 hitting percentage
Dominique Felix: 12 digs, 11 kills, 2 blocks
 
How It Happened:
Both teams started the first set evenly matched as the Knights held a slim 11-10 advantage through 21 points. SHU built the first substantial lead, putting together a 5-0 run to go up four, 15-11. FDU began to slowly chip away at its deficit, taking a 20-19 advantage late in the frame. Sacred Heart battled back to retake the lead, 21-20, but a 3-0 run by the visitors put them in front again, 23-21. The team then traded the last four points of the frame until the Knights sealed a 25-23 victory. 

The second set started with alternating runs until the score sat tied at 10-9 FDU. The Pios then stepped up the pressure by winning nine of the following 11 points to take a convincing 18-12 advantage. However, the defending NEC Tournament champs would not go down without a fight, as an extended 12-6 run tied the score at 24-all. Back-and-forth play ensued until SHU slammed the door on FDU's comeback with a 28-26 victory. 

The third and fourth sets mirrored each other, as the Knights won both by hitting the lights out of the ball. FDU swung at a .323 clip in the third and .314 in the fourth on its way to sealing a 3-1 win in the match. The Pios did not make things easy on the visitors in the fourth, as they hit .211 and were up 9-6 early on. Unfortunately for SHU, the Knights concluded the frame on a 19-10 run to end the match. 

The Pioneers finished the night with a pair of double-doubles, as Dominique Felix had 12 digs and 11 kills and Gaby Zovko tallied 33 assists and 12 digs. Felix has racked up three double-doubles this season. Zovko is up to nine double-doubles this year, as she was again on the doorstep of a triple-double with eight kills added to her total. Kate Anderson tied a career-high with 13 kills, tying a mark she set against FDU earlier this season. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers are back in the Pitt tomorrow to play LIU at 5 p.m.