FAIRFIELD, Conn.— The Long Island University volleyball team fell to Sacred Heart, 3-0 (19-25, 20-25, 18-25) on Saturday evening at the William H. Pitt Center. With the loss, LIU fall to 7-15 overall, and 6-4 in Northeast Conference play, while Sacred Heart moves to 13-10, 8-2 in NEC play.

Junior Masa Zirojevic led the Sharks offense with 10 kills against the Pioneers. Zirojevic also added eight digs in the near double-double effort. Freshman Karolina Nova finished with nine kills and nine digs for LIU. Senior Amanda Hubbard dished out a match-high 28 assists and led the team with three blocks. Sophomore Anastasia Scott tallied a match-high 15 digs for the Sharks.

The Sharks started the match with a 3-1 lead in the opening set on a kill from Nova along with a block assist from senior Kora Schaberl and freshman Miranda Strongman. SHU was quick to answer with three straight points to take the lead. It was back-and-forth play from there with both teams trading shots at the slight lead. LIU used kills by Nova and Schaberl to take an 8-7 lead. SHU used an 8-1 stretch to gain control of the set with a 15-9 advantage. The Sharks put together a 5-1 stretch shortly after on kills from Nova, Strongman and Zirojevic to cut the deficit to two at 16-14. SHU used another three point run to create some separation, ultimately winning the opening set 25-19.

SHU carried momentum over into the second set with a 7-4 lead early. The Sharks slowly chipped away at the deficit, making it a one point match just under the halfway point at 13-12 in favor of the home team. The Pioneers went on a 7-1 run shortly after to gain control of the set 20-13. LIU looked to make a comeback late in the set, using three straight points led by a pair of kills from Strongman to cut the deficit to four points. SHU used one final kill to win the second set 25-20.

The Pioneers jumped out with a 8-2 lead in the third set. The Sharks would start to get points on the board, eventually using a 4-1 run on a block assist from Hubbard and Strongman along with a solo block from Nova to make it a two-point match at 11-9 in favor of the home team. From there both teams would trade shots at mini runs with the Pioneers clinging on to the two-point lead at 17-15. SHU created a little more separation with back-to-back kills for the 19-15 lead. LIU would grab three of the next four points on kills by Zirojevic, junior Kristina Mamic and freshman Barbora Hoskova to put the score at 20-18. SHU closed out the set on a five-point run to take the match 25-20.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to the court for a midweek matchup at St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday, October 30. First serve at the Genovesi Center is slated for 6:00 p.m.