FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team returned to the top of the Northeast Conference (NEC) standings with a home sweep of Stonehill Friday evening. The Pioneers are now tied with FDU at the top of the league standings, but SHU holds the tiebreaker. With a win tomorrow against Merrimack, the Pios will host the 2023 NEC Championship Tournament at the Pitt Center. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 11-14, 10-3 NEC
Stonehill: 2-29, 2-11 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Gaby Zovko: 18 assists, 6 kills, 3 digs
Camryn Luginbuhl: 11 kills, .833 hitting percentage
Jasmine Rogers: 12 digs 
 
How It Happened:
After Stonehill won the first two points of the night, SHU took control of the opening frame by going on an 11-1 run to go up 11-3. The Pioneers did not let up the pressure for the remainder of the frame, allowing the Skyhawks to score just four points for the rest of the first. On the other hand, the Pios won four of the final 18 points to seal a 25-7 victory. Sacred Heart's offense was humming for the frame, hitting an outstanding 0.421.

The second set was much closer, as the Skyhawks owned a 17-10 advantage through 27 points. From there, the Pioneers put on the jets. An immediate 9-2 surge by the home team evened the score at 19-all. Camryn Luginbuhl capped the run with back-to-back powerful spikes. With the momentum firmly in their favor, the Pioneers put the finishing on their comeback by ending the frame on a 6-3 run. 

Up 2-0, Sacred Heart finished the match in style with a 25-12 win in the third. The Pios posted a stellar 0.320 hitting percentage in the set, finishing with just five errors. The frame was highlighted by a 9-0 surge that put SHU up 23-8. 

Leading the Pios tonight was Luginbuhl, as she hit a whopping .833 with a match-high 11 kills. Gaby Zovko continued her stellar string of play with 18 assists, six kills and three digs. Jasmine Rogers commanded the SHU defense with a match-high 12 digs. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers host Merrimack tomorrow at 5 p.m. for their last regular-season match. After tomorrow's contest, SHU will host its Senior Day, as the team will honor its two graduate students and four seniors.