Sacred Heart
7-4,0-0Metro
Providence
8-3,0-0Big East
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Providence | 25 | 17 | 22 | 25 | 11 | 2 |
| Sacred Heart | 18 | 25 | 25 | 16 | 15 | 3 |
Pios Win Third Straight, Defeat Providence in Five to Open Up Weekend Action
9/19/2026 9:02:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
 Cambridge, Mass. – Rookie outside hitter Sofia Hechavarria drilled back-to-back hammers to secure a five-set win for the Sacred Heart women's volleyball team as the Pios opened up the Harvard Invitational with the victory over Providence.
Hechavarria finished the game with a season-high 16 kills and was one of three Pios to lead the way in double digits. Leading the team overall was senior right side Lauren Hubert who finished with 23 kills, a season-best for all players. Rounding out the trio of leaders was Renata Montini with 13 kills.
Despite a fifth set that saw three ties and two lead changes, the Pioneers their best hitting coming in that decisive stanza, collecting 12 of their 15 points on kills, with those coming on 22 attempts with a single error for a .500 attack percentage. Overall for the match, sophomore setter Addy Franz led SHU to a .215 attack percentage, racking up a season-best 44 assists.
Records
Sacred Heart: 7-4, 0-0 Metro
Providence: 8-3, 0-0 Big East
Leaders
Lauren Hubert: 23 kills, .288 attack percentage, 12 digs
Sofia Hechavarria: 16 kills, .333 attack percentage
Renata Montini: 12 kills, .171 attack percentage, 13 digs
Miliani Villarreal: 24 digs, 12 assists, 2 aces
Addy Franz: 44 assists, 15 digs
How it Happened
Providence opened up the match with a 25-18 victory in the opening set, using a 6-1 rally midway through the set to open up a lead and closed out the set scoring six of the final seven points to secure the early lead.
The Pioneers responded by erasing that early Providence advantage with a pair of wins to take a 2-1 lead in the match, winning the second set 25-17 and mounting a late rally in the third for a 25-22 win. Facing a three-point deficit late in the third set, SHU rattled off eight of the final 10 points to earn the victory. Ryleigh Short dropped in a pair of aces in that 10 point stretch while Montini and Hubert each finished with a pair of hammers, the most important the set clinching kill form Hubert.
The Friars weren't going to go down quietly as they answered in the fourth set with their best single set hitting of the night leading to a 25-16 victory. Despite that nine-point final margin, the fourth set saw the most ties (7) and lead changes (4) of the match.
After Providence forced the fifth set, Sacred Heart opened up that deciding game with back-to-back kills from Hubert and Montini. The Friars did manage to flip the score in their favor, seeing their biggest lead coming at 5-3 and 6-4 before the Pios regained the lead and never relinquished. With a one-point lead at 11-10, Sacred Heart would begin a late run, scoring four of the final five points for the victory, including three straight kills from Hubert and two from Hechavarria to close out the seventh win of the season and the first three-match win streak of the year for SHU.
Up Next
The Pioneers will return to action in less than 24 hours as they close out the two-day Harvard Invitational with a date against the host Crimson set for 4:00 p.m. All of the action in Sunday's match will air live on ESPN+.
