Pioneers Fall to Sharks in Four Sets

Saturday, March 25

Fairfield, Conn.

5:00 PM

Sacred Heart

7-9,4-4NEC

LIU

13-8,7-1NEC

LIU

Sacred Heart

3/25/2023 7:05:00 PM | Men's Volleyball

Box Score

By: Johnny O'Brien

FAIRFIELD, Conn. — Sacred Heart University men's volleyball was back at the Pitt Center Saturday evening, losing 3-1 to LIU.

The Pioneers would get out to a 7-5 first set lead with three kills from Mark Berry as well as a service ace and kills from Ryan Benscoter and Patrick Mucherino. The Sharks would go on a 20-7 run en route to a 25-14 first set victory in which the Pioneers were outhit .636-.227.

The red and white got out to an early second set lead at 6-3 before the Sharks would erase the deficit with three straight points. Kills from Ife Loverton and Carlos Santa Cruz would keep the teams gridlocked at 13-13. The squads would stay tied up until 21-21 with help from Loverton, Santa Cruz and Mucherino before the Sharks pulled away to win the second set 25-22. The 15-13 kill edge for the Pioneers in the set wasn't enough, as they couldn't amend the attack errors (7-5) and service errors (4-2).

The Pioneers were early on the lead in the third set as well, getting a 5-3 jump with kills from Loverton, Berry and Mucherino. The squads would trade points until two consecutive Santa Cruz kills made it 16-16. The teams would split the next ten points until a Berry kill off a Tyler Kwinta assist made it 22-21 in favor of the Pios. A service ace from Mucherino would give the Pios a 24-22 lead in the third set before finishing with a 27-25 victory to seal the set.

The Sharks would control the flow of the first 20 points of the fourth set, edging the Pioneers out 12-8 with multiple kills from Mucherino and help from Berry and Santa Cruz. The Pioneers would cut into the lead to trail 16-15 with kills from Mucherino and Benscoter as well as several LIU service errors. The Pioneers would be outscored 9-5 to close out the set as the Sharks would walk away with a 3-1 match win.

Records:
Sacred Heart 7-9 (4-4 NEC)
LIU 13-8 (7-1 NEC)

Top Performers:
Mark Berry 16 kills, 2 aces
Ife Loverton 11 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace
Patrick Mucherino 14 kills, 2 blocks
Carlos Santa Cruz 7 kills, 2 assists, 5 digs
Tyler Kwinta 46 assists, 8 digs

Ryan Benscoter 3 blocks
Cole Younger 9 digs, 3 assists

Up Next:
The Pioneers will be back at the Pitt Center Friday at 7pm for an NEC matchup against Saint Francis University.