Bronx, N.Y. – In its final match of the regular season, the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team posted a convincing three-set sweep of the Manhattan Jaspers. Despite the victory, and with other results around the league, the Pioneers wrap up the season tied for seventh in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) with an overall record of 11-19 and an 8-10 mark in the MAAC.
Leading the Pioneers on the afternoon was the outside hitter combination of junior Lauren Hubert first-year Ryleigh Short who finished with 13 and 12 kills, respectively. Following that duo was another first-year in Abbie Hagedorn who finished with nine kills.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 11-19, 8-10 MAAC
Manhattan: 4-24, 2-16 MAAC
Top Performers:
Lauren Hubert: 13 kills, 6 digs
Ryleigh Short: 12 kills, 11 digs, 2 blocks
Brielle Laferriere: 32 assists
Miliani Villarreal: 16 digs, 4 assists, 2 aces
How it Happened:
Sacred Heart opened up the match with kills from Hubert and Hagedorn for an early lead, however the opening set would see-saw back and forth with seven ties and four lead changes. Still early in the set, the Pioneers would break a 5-5 draw with four-straight points to open up a 9-5 lead.
The Jaspers chipped away at that lead, eventually knotting the score at 16 and taking a 17-16 lead. After ties at 17 and 18, the Pioneers regained the advantage using a 6-1 run that led to a 22-18 lead. Villarreal would close out the first point of the evening with a service ace for a 25-21 final.
In the second set it was the Jaspers that opened up with a lead with a 6-2 advantage in the early going. That lead would flip for the first time thanks to a 7-1 run for the Pioneers. After swapping the next few points, Sacred Heart would pull away using a 9-1 stretch to take an 18-11. This time around it was a kill from Short that gave the Pioneers the 2-0 advantage in the match with a 25-18 set two victory.
The third set would see no ties or lead changes as the Pioneers would open up with a kill from Hubert followed by a Jaspers error that provided a 2-0 edge. From that point, the visitors built their advantage out to a comfortable five at 8-3 and never allowed the Jaspers closer than four down the stretch before kills from Emily Sawyer and Cristina Montanez closed out the match with a 25-17 third set victory.
