Friday, March 21
North Andover, MA
7:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart
5-11,0-6EIVA
3
at
1
Merrimack College
10-6,0-0DI Independent
1
2
3
4
F
Sacred Heart
26
17
26
30
3
Merrimack
24
25
24
28
1
Photo by: Greg Vasil
Pios Defeat Merrimack in Four-Set Battle
3/21/2025 10:38:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Mandic led the Pios with 14 kills
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The Sacred Heart University men's volleyball team defeated Merrimack in four-set thriller. Aleksa Mandic led the Pioneers with 14 kills hitting .324.
Records:
SHU: 5-11 (0-6 EIVA)
Merrimack: 10-6
Top Performers:
Aleksa Mandic: 14 kills (.324), 1 ace, 6 digs
Dylan McClung: 8 kills (.357), 3 aces, 2 block assists
Jaron Popp: 8 kills (.077), 3 aces, 12 digs
Cade Trujillo: 30 assists, 9 digs, 3 block assists
How it Happened:
The Pios secured an early lead in the first and extended it with a four-point run with a trio of kills from Aleksa Mandic, Aaron Johnson and Jaron Popp.
After being up by two, the Warriors secured a five-point run to take the 21-19 lead. The Pios did not give up. SHU capitalized on Warrior errors going on a 7-3 run to take the first set 26-24.
Merrimack maintained an early lead in the second that SHU was unable to comeback from ultimately falling 25-17.
The Pios held onto a four-point lead in the third, but Merrimack tied things up at 21 with a trio of Pio errors. After a bit of back-and-forth play, the Pios secured the 26-24 win.
The Pios secured a five-point lead in the fourth with kills from Popp and Dylan McClung. The Warriors closed the gap with a five-point run with a trio of service aces. Back-and-forth play resulted in an extra-long set that SHU secured with a kill from Ken Naples.
Up Next
Sacred Heart returns home tomorrow to face Saint Thomas Aquinas for senior day at 7 p.m.
Records:
SHU: 5-11 (0-6 EIVA)
Merrimack: 10-6
Top Performers:
Aleksa Mandic: 14 kills (.324), 1 ace, 6 digs
Dylan McClung: 8 kills (.357), 3 aces, 2 block assists
Jaron Popp: 8 kills (.077), 3 aces, 12 digs
Cade Trujillo: 30 assists, 9 digs, 3 block assists
How it Happened:
The Pios secured an early lead in the first and extended it with a four-point run with a trio of kills from Aleksa Mandic, Aaron Johnson and Jaron Popp.
After being up by two, the Warriors secured a five-point run to take the 21-19 lead. The Pios did not give up. SHU capitalized on Warrior errors going on a 7-3 run to take the first set 26-24.
Merrimack maintained an early lead in the second that SHU was unable to comeback from ultimately falling 25-17.
The Pios held onto a four-point lead in the third, but Merrimack tied things up at 21 with a trio of Pio errors. After a bit of back-and-forth play, the Pios secured the 26-24 win.
The Pios secured a five-point lead in the fourth with kills from Popp and Dylan McClung. The Warriors closed the gap with a five-point run with a trio of service aces. Back-and-forth play resulted in an extra-long set that SHU secured with a kill from Ken Naples.
Up Next
Sacred Heart returns home tomorrow to face Saint Thomas Aquinas for senior day at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
SH
Merri
Kills
41
53
Errors
14
23
Attempts
118
136
Hitting %
.229
.221
Points
54.5
76.0
Assists
36
49
Aces
7
16
Blocks
6.5
7
Game Leaders
Kills
14
Aces
1
Blocks
1
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
8
Aces
3
Blocks
1
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
2
Players Mentioned
MB
/ Men's VolleyballOH
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's VolleyballMB
/ Men's Volleyball
MB
/ Men's Volleyball
S
/ Men's VolleyballMic'd Up: Cade Trujillo
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