TEANECK, N.J. – Sacred Heart University women's volleyball played spoilers on Friday night in its Northeast Conference opener, as the Pios handed FDU a 3-1 loss on the evening of the Knights' 2022 NEC Championship banner reveal. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 2-9, 1-0 NEC
FDU: 1-13, 0-1 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Kate Anderson: 13 kills, 7 blocks, .706 hitting percentage 
Gaby Zovko: 34 assists, 9 digs, 8 blocks, 5 kills
Camryn Luginbuhl: 12 kills, 4 digs
 
How It Happened:
The opening set began with back-and-forth play by both teams until the Pios led 10-8 after the first 18 points. The Knights began to chip away at SHU's lead, taking momentum with a 5-0 run to go up 15-12. The Pioneers battled back to within two, 16-14, but a 7-0 run by the home team propelled them to a 25-17 victory in the set. 

The Knights took the early advantage in the second set, going up 8-2 after 10 points. SHU rallied with a 12-6 run to knot the score at 14-all. The Pios then took a 20-17 lead following a 6-1 surge before sealing a 25-21 win in the frame to tie the match at 1-1. 

With the match deadlocked, SHU came out in the third set and won six of the first nine points to go ahead 6-3. FDU answered by taking a 9-7 lead following a 6-1 run. The Pios continued to counter, retaking the advantage by going up 18-14 after a 4-0 run. The SHU surge featured back-to-back kills by Camryn Luginbuhl and a spike by Cristina Montanez. 

However, the Knights did not concede as they tied the score at 20-20 with a 6-2 run. A 4-0 rally by the Pioneers was what SHU needed to seal the set 25-23. Kate Anderson took over to end the frame, tallying kills on three of the Pios' final five points. 

Sacred Heart ramped up the pressure to start the fourth, taking a 7-0 lead at the start of the frame. The Pios' defense racked up three blocks in the run, with Anderson, Dominique Felix and Emily Sawyer all recording swats. After its dominant start, SHU remained ahead by four points for the remainder of the set, sealing a 25-16 win with a set-ending 5-0 surge to checkmate the defending NEC champs 3-1. 

Individually, Anderson had one of the most dominant matches of her career Friday, as she finished with a career-high 13 kills and tied a career-high with seven blocks, all while hitting an incredible .706 on 17 attempts. Gaby Zovko also had a standout day, posting new season highs with 34 assists and eight blocks. She came one dig and two blocks shy of her first collegiate triple-double. Luginbuhl finished the night with 12 kills, her sixth-straight contest with double-digit kills. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers continue NEC play tomorrow at 5 p.m. with a road tilt at LIU.