Sacred Heart
11-7,4-2Metro
Rider
3-12,2-4Metro
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rider | 14 | 25 | 25 | 17 | 7 | 2 |
| Sacred Heart | 25 | 20 | 23 | 25 | 15 | 3 |
10/9/2026 10:15:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Fairfield, Conn. – Behind a trio of Pioneers in double figures, the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team opened up its weekend action with a five-set win over Rider to improve to 4-2 in Metro Conference play.
Leading the Pioneers on the night was sophomore outside hitter Abbie Hagedorn who drilled 19 kills and completed a double double with 11 digs and picked up five points on service aces. Joining her in leading the offensive efforts was matching 17 kills efforts from senior Lauren Hubert and first year Sofia Hechavarria, the latter of which closed out the night with a team-high .367 attack percentage.
Sophomore setter Addy Franz finished the five-set match with 49 assists while junior libero Miliani Villarreal finished with a season-best 30 digs. Both Franz and Villarreal completed double doubles, part of four total on the night for the Pios.
Records
Sacred Heart: 11-7, 4-2 Metro
Rider: 3-12, 2-4 Metro
Stat Leaders
Abbie Hagedorn: 19 kills, .218 attack percentage, 11 digs, 5 aces
Lauren Hudbert: 17 kills, 10 digs, 4 blocks, 2 aces
Sofia Hechavarria: 17 kills, .367 attack percentage, 1 block
Addy Franz: 49 assists, 11 digs, 3 blocks, 2 kills
Miliani Villarreal: 30 digs, 10 assists
How it Happened
The Pioneers opened up the match with their best hitting of the night, taking the opening set by a 25-14 margin. Franz compiled 12 assists in leading the Pioneers to a.371 attack percentage, while five of the Pios points came on service aces, three of those alone from Hagedorn. Defensively, SHU held Rider to just seven kills in the opening set.
After using that opening set as a warmup, the Broncs flipped the script in the second set to know the match at one, hitting .282 as a team en route to a 25-20 lead. Overall the second set saw a match-high nine ties and two lead changes. Despite the outcome, the Pioneers finished with 15 kills in the second set, compared to 13 for the Broncs, with Hubert leading the efforts with a half dozen.
The third set saw no more than a four-point lead for either team, with five ties and a pair of lead changes. That largest margin came in favor of the Broncs at 10-6, however the Pios answered by rallying off five-straight points to take an 11-10 lead all with Ryleigh Short on the serve. That run for the Pios included a pair of kills from Hubert and three-straight from Hagedorn, including one that came after a successful challenge from the Pioneers.
A six-point rally for Rider put them back ahead by a pair, 16-14, however SHU kept it close and knotting the score at 23 before succumbing to the Broncs 25-23.
The fourth and fifth sets never saw Sacred Heart trail as they opened up the fourth set on a 6-1 rally and the fifth on a 3-0 rally. SHU matched that five-point lead on a handful of occasions before breaking the set wide open with a five-point rally late that extended the Pios advantage into double figures at 23-13, eventually forcing the fifth set with a 25-17 victory.
After opening up the fourth set scoring three unanswered, the Pios allowed Rider to piece together back-to-back points just once and broke out to as much as a six-point lead on a kill from Hechavarria. Coming down the stretch, it was kills by Hubert and Newton and an attack error by the Broncs that closed out the match in favor of the home team with a 15-7 score.
Up Next
The Pioneers will close out their weekend with another Metro Conference match on Saturday evening when they host the Saint Peter's Peacocks at the William H. Pitt Center. First serve is set for 6:00 p.m. with all of the action available live on ESPN+.
