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Volleyball Heads to Iona & Manhattan to Close Out Regular Season

11/13/2025 1:51:00 PM

FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The final weekend of the regular season is upon us as the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team will head on the road for matches at Iona and Manhattan. The weekend's action will begin on Friday with a matinee at Iona with first serve against the Gaels set for 1:00 p.m. Saturday's regular season finale will come on Saturday as the Pioneers will head to the Bronx to take on Manhattan at 4:00 p.m.

WEEKLY ACCOLADES
Sophomore libero Miliani Villarreal set a new mark as she secured her sixth MAAC Libero of the Week honor, and second-straight, as one of two Pioneers recognized by the league this week. She was joined by freshman Abbie Hagedorn who picked up her first Rookie of the Week honor. Villarreal led the defensive efforts in a pair of wins last week averaging 4.25 digs per set, finishing with 17 each against Canisius and Niagara. Hagedorn was SHU's leading hitter in the two MAAC wins, collecting 29 kills on a .273 attack percentage while adding 31 digs. She finished with 15 kills and 15 digs against the Golden Griffins and 14 kills and 16 digs against the Purple Knights.

LEADING LIBERO
Sophomore libero Miliani Villarreal continues to impress in her second season with the Pioneers, as she leads the conference, and is the only player with 500+, in total digs (506) and second in digs per set (4.69). Last week, Villarreal averaged 4.25 digs per set in two MAAC matches. For the season, the second-year has finished all but two of the 26 total matches with double figures defensively and recently surpassed the 1,000 dig plateau against Siena.

BIG IN THE MIDDLE
Graduate student Cristina Montanez has been a hitting machine in the last few weeks, hitting .300 or better in 11 of the last 13 matches and is currently third in the MAAC with a team-high .345 attack percentage with 150 kills and just 32 errors in 342 total attempts. Additionally, she leads the Pioneers with 86 total blocks, including a career-high 10 blocks in a four-set win over Marist and again this past weekend against Niagara.

ACROSS THE NET
SCOUTING IONA

  • Heading into this weekend, the Gaels hold a 10-20 overall and an 5-11 mark in MAAC play. 
  • In the penultimate weekend of the regular season, Iona split its two matches against Marist and Siena, dropping a three-set decision to Marist and followed that with a sweep of the Saints.
  • As a team, Iona sits towards the bottom third in the conference standings, ahead of both Saint Peter's and Manhattan.
  • Individually, the Gaels are led by rookie outside hitter Julia Leonardo who stands fourth in the MAAC in kills per set at 3.48, with 345 total kills and a .227 attack percentage. Overall, she is one of three players with 200+ kills, joined by freshman Emma Koceja and sophomore Kari Smith who have 204 and 201, respectively.

ALL-TIME SERIES

  • The Pios will meet the Gaels for the 19th time on Friday. Including a four-set win for the Pioneers early this season, Iona continues to lead the all-time series with a 13-5 overall record in the previous 18 matchups. 
  • Since joining the MAAC, Sacred Heart is 2-1 against Iona meeting twice last season with a three-set sweep in the regular season and a three-set loss in the MAAC Championship. The regular season meeting last year was the first time the two teams met since the 2017 campaign.

SCOUTING MANHATTAN

  • After securing a sweep of Marist in its most recent match last Saturday, the Jaspers stand at 4-22 overall and 2-14 in the MAAC.
  • Individually, the Jaspers are led by freshman right side Hanna Kaczynska who stands eighth in the MAAC with 2.91 kills per set, hammering 279 total on the season. Including a 23 kill effort this past weekend against Siena, Kaczynska has surpassed double figures 11 times.
  • Defensively, Manhattan has a pair of players among the top-10 in the conference in blocks with Abby Morreale and Helenn Montilla fifth and eighth in the MAAC, respectively. Morreale is one of five players in the conference with 100+ total blocks as her 105 average out to 1.09 per set. Montilla stands at 0.94 blocks per set.

ALL-TIME SERIES

  • SHU will meet the Jaspers for the ninth time in the history of the program with the all-time series knotted at four wins apiece following a Sacred Heart sweep earlier this season in Fairfield.
  • After an 11-year drought in the series, Sacred Heart scored a five-set victory last season in the first meeting as MAAC foes and what was the first ever MAAC match for the Pioneers.
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