STORRS, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team battled Brown in its opener at the UConn Classic on Saturday, suffering a 3-0 loss, with two of the sets being decided by two points. 

Ryleigh Short led the way for the Pioneers, almost recording her third straight double-double on nine kills and nine digs. Ava Roodbol assisted on 26 of SHU's 35 kills, adding a career-high seven digs. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 3-8
Brown: 4-4

Top Performers:
Ryleigh Short: 9 kills, 9 digs
Ava Roodbol: 26 assists, seven digs
Abbie Hagedorn: 4 kills, 10 digs, 1 block

How It Happened:
The Pioneers stormed out to an early 7-5 lead in the opening set before the Bears answered with a 6-0 run to take an 11-7 advantage. The teams began to trade points until a 6-2 surge by the Pios gave them a 21-20 lead late. Unfortunately for SHU, the Bears answered by scoring five of the final seven points in the set to claim a 25-23 win. 

Sacred Heart had to play on its back foot in the second set after trailing 14-3 in the first 17 points. Brown never looked back, securing a 25-12 win to take a 2-0 advantage. 

SHU bounced back quickly, keeping the Bears in reach as the score sat tied at 8-8 after 16 points. The Pioneers built a 12-8 lead following a 4-0 surge, going up by 16-11 following a 3-0 spurt. Brown then started to chip away, cutting the margin to 22-19 before a service error made it 23-19 SHU. Unfortunately for Sacred Heart, the Bears caught fire with a match-ending 7-1 run to secure the sweep. 

Up Next:
The Pioneers meet the Huskies tomorrow at 3 p.m. at UConn's Volleyball Center.