Fairfield, Conn. – First Year Ryleigh Short was the lone Pioneer to finish in double figures as the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team dropped a three-set decision against the visiting Fairfield Stags on Tuesday evening at the William H. Pitt Center.
Short closed out the match with a dozen kills, hitting .276 with four errors in 29 total attempts. Joining her in leading the offense was graduate middle Cristina Montanez who finished with a half dozen kills with a single error in 15 attempts for a .333 average.
Record:
Sacred Heart: 8-16, 5-7 MAAC
Fairfield: 17-5, 11-1 MAAC
Top Performers:
Ryleigh Short: 12 kills, 6 digs, 2 service aces
Brielle Laferriere: 12 assists, 6 digs
Cristina Montanez: 6 kills, 2 blocks
How it Happened:
In the opening set, the Pioneers came out swinging with kills from Lauren Hubert and Short to open up to the early 2-0 lead. Sacred Heart would maintain that lead over the next 17 points before the Stags tied the match for the first time at 9-9. Another stalemate at 10-10 would follow before Fairfield took their first lead with three-straight kills. From that point the Stags opened up their lead to as much as six before the Pioneers chipped away, cutting that lead in half but eventually fell by a 25-21 margin.
In the second set, Fairfield opened up with the first three points and extended that lead to 8-4 before the Pioneers rallied to knot the game at eight thanks to three-straight kills from Abbie Hagedorn, with the final of those flipping the score in favor of Sacred Heart.
Following ties at 10, 11, 12 13 and 14, the Stags regained a three point lead at 18-15 and never looked back form there, securing the second set with a kill from Mamie Krubally.
Fairfield opened up the third set on fire, scoring the first four points and quickly extending that lead to 10-1. The Stags maintained a significant lead throughout, building up a double digit lead at 20-9 before securing the match victory with a 25-13 set three margin.
Up Next:
Sacred Heart will head back on the road for a pair of weekend matches with Marist and Siena on the docket. First up will be a trip to Poughkeepsie to meet the Red Foxes for a Halloween matchup. First serve against Marist is set for 7:00 p.m.
