Fairfield, Conn. – Not one, not two, but three in a row for the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team as they picked up a four-set decision over the visiting Iona Gaels to close out a four-game homestand on Saturday night at the William H. Pitt Center.
Leading the Pioneers was the duo of freshman outside hitters Ryleigh Short and Abbie Hagedorn who each finished with a baker's dozen, 13 kills, and were part of a trio of Sacred Heart players who finished in double figures. In addition to her 13 kills, Hagedorn added a pair of blocks and three service aces to go along with 11 digs to complete the double double.
Rounding out the top three offensively was Cristina Montanez who hit over .500 for the second-straight night as she finished with 12 kills and no errors in 22 total attempts.
Record:
Sacred Heart: 7-14, 4-5 MAAC
Iona: 7-16, 2-7 MAAC
Top Performers:
Ryleigh Short: 13 kills, 14 digs, 3 blocks
Abbie Hagedorn: 13 kills, 11 digs, 3 service aces, 2 blocks
Cristina Montanez: 12 kills, .545 attack percentage, 4 blocks
Brielle Laferriere: 37 assists, 7 digs
Miliani Villarreal: 25 digs, 3 service aces
How it Happened:
The Pioneers came out swinging and quickly opened up a 6-1 lead in the opening set thanks in part to a pair of kills from Short and one each from Emily Sawyer and Hagedorn. Sacred Heart quickly extended that lead into double figures and as much as 18 before closing out the first set with a 25-10 victory courtesy of a Gaels service error.
Despite a couple of ties early, the Pioneers again opened up an early lead in the second set, using a seven-point rally, which included a pair of aces for Villarreal, to take a 10-3 lead and never looked back. This time around it was a 13-point lead that was the largest for Sacred Hert as Sawyer capped off the second set victory with a kill for the 25-14 decision.
The Gaels would regroup during the second break and after keeping it close in the early going used a five-point rally to open up a 15-9 lead they would maintain down the stretch. The Pioneers chipped into that lead late in the set but would fall 25-19 to force a fourth.
Iona again opened up the fourth set with momentum, breaking out to a 5-2 advantage before the Pioneers settled in and rattled off five-straight points to flip the score and eventually extend that rally to 10-2 which opened up a 12-7 Sacred Heart lead. Iona looked to make it a game midway through the set, pulling within one at 17-6, however the Pioneers settled and extended the lead back out to four before rattling off three-straight points to put the match in the books with a 25-19 victory in the fourth set.
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will play its next two matches on the road, first with a visit to North Andover, Mass. to take on the Merrimack Warriors in a MAAC contest on Friday, October 24. First serve against the Warriors is set for 4:00 p.m.
