GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team opened the 2025 season with a pair of setbacks against Gardner-Webb and UNC Greensboro at UNCG's Felming Gymnasium in Greensboro, N.C. SHU suffered a heartbreaking five-set loss to Gardner-Webb in the opener before taking a sweep against the host Spartans.
In the first match of the season, sophomore libero
Miliani Villarreal broke the SHU single-match program record with 39 digs, topping her own record set last season.
Records:
Sacred Heart: 0-2
Gardner-Webb: 1-0
UNC Greensboro: 2-0
Match One: GWU 3, SHU 2
Top Performers:
Miliani Villarreal: 39 digs, 6 assists
Ryleigh Short: 20 kills, 22 digs
Ava Roodbol: 55 assists, 5 digs
Abbie Hagedorn: 20 kills, 24 digs, 2 aces
How It Happened:
SHU started the first match of the season strong, surging out to early 11-5 and 18-10 advantages. The Bulldogs rallied from there, cutting the deficit to one at 20-19 following a 9-2 run. Gardner-Webb evened the score at 22-22 all before back-and-forth play followed. With the score knotted at 27-27, GWU sealed a comeback win by tallying the final two points for a 29-27 win.
The Pioneers rallied in the second set, storming out to a 16-6 lead after 22 points.
Ryleigh Short,
Abbie Hagedorn and
Lauren Hubert all tallied multiple kills in the run. The Bulldogs fought to within five in the second, but SHU held on to secure a 25-19 victory.
After Gardner-Webb took the third, 25-18, SHU's back was against the wall in the fourth. The Bulldogs took the early advantage, 13-7, before Sacred Heart started to rally. The Pioneers tied the score at 18-18 after scoring 11 of the next 16 points. GWU led again, 22-18, before another SHU rally, as a 7-0 surge sealed a 25-22 win and forced a fifth set.
Unfortunately for the Pioneers, a pair of 4-0 runs at the beginning and the end of the fifth propelled GWU to a 15-12 win, sealing the five-set victory.
SHU saw outstanding performances from multiple Pioneers. Villarreal led the way with a record day, tallying a career-high 39 digs to break her own program record set last year.
Ava Roodbol finished the match with a career-high 55 assists.
In their collegiate debuts, Hagedorn (20k, 24d) and Short (20k, 22d) both tallied double-doubles. Hubert also had a double-double with 19 kills and 16 digs in her first match with the Pioneers.
Match Two: UNCG 3, SHU 0
Top Performers:
Miliani Villarreal: 14 digs
Ava Roodbol: 24 assists, 2 aces
How It Happened:
After falling in the first set, 25-10, SHU battled back in the second. Trailing 9-3 early on, the Pioneers rallied to cut the deficit to one, 15-14, with an 11-6 surge. Unfortunately for SHU, a 3-0 run from the Spartans was enough to propel the home team to a 25-20 win.
Sacred Heart took an early lead in the third, going up 6-3 after nine points. A 4-1 run by the Pios gave them a 10-7 advantage a little later, but a 5-0 run by UNCG gave the home squad a 12-10 lead. SHU retook the advantage with an 8-4 surge to set the score at 18-16. Trailing late for the first time in the match, the Spartans took nine of the final 11 points to claim a 25-20 win and a sweep.
Roodbol tallied a second consecutive strong performance, finishing with 24 assists on the team's 28 kills. Villarreal added 14 digs to her daily total, bringing her total to 53 today.
Up Next:
SHU concludes the Spartan Classic tomorrow at 11 a.m. against Queens (N.C.).
