BETHLEHEM, Pa.— The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team topped Lehigh in set three of today's road non-conference match but suffered a 3-1 loss at the Steel Classic Tournament in Bethlehem, Pa., Friday afternoon. 

Ava Roodbol had total control of the SHU offense this afternoon, assisting on 34 of the team's 41 kills. Roodbol's main beneficiaries were Abbie Hagedorn, Ryleigh Short and Lauren Hubert with 10, nine and eight kills, respectively. Cristina Montanez also had a stellar day with five kills and a team-high four blocks. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 1-6
Lehigh: 5-2

Top Performers:
Lauren Hubert: 8 kills, 14 digs
Ava Roodbol: 34 assists, 3 digs
Cristina Montanez: 5 kills, 4 blocks

How It Happened:
The Pioneers took an early lead in the first set, putting together a 4-0 run to go up 4-2. The Mountain Hawks answered with a 3-0 surge to swing the lead to 5-4 before back-and-forth play followed. A 6-2 spurt put SHU back ahead 16-14 before Lehigh strung together a 7-2 surge to build a 21-18 lead. A 3-0 SHU run evened the score at 21-all. Unfortunately for the Pios, the Mountain Hawks scored four of the next six points to secure a hard-fought 25-23 win. 

Lehigh took the second set, 25-18, on the back of a 9-0 run to put the Pios down 2-0. 

Needing a win, SHU was on fire to start the third, bursting out to an 11-4 lead. Middles Emily Sawyer and Cristina Montanez tallied kills in the run, while Montanez also added an assisted block. The Pioneers built its advantage to as much as nine, 18-9, in the set, cruising to a 25-17 victory to force a fourth. 

Sacred Heart started the fourth strong, leading 10-8 after putting together a 4-0 run. Unfortunately for the visitors, Lehigh won 10 of the next 13 points to take a commanding 18-13 lead. From there, the Mountain Hawks never looked back, clinching the win in the match with a 25-16 triumph. 

Up Next:
SHU continues the Steel Classic Tournament tomorrow with a 10 a.m. match against Valparaiso and a 4 p.m. tilt against NJIT.