LORETTO, Pa. — The LIU men's volleyball team took on Sacred Heart in the first round of the NEC tournament on Wednesday afternoon. 

The Sharks struggled early on as the Pioneers took the first set 25-21 but LIU would come back strong in the second set. It would gain an early three point lead and never trail and tie up the match at one set a piece. The third set would be where the match was decided with neither team wanting to give in and go down two sets to one. The Sharks would lead by as many as five points until the Pioneers stormed back and tied it up. Momentum would swing in Sacred Heart's favor after the comeback and won the set 30-28. The shift in momentum would be enough for Sacred Heart to win the fourth and final set as LIU fell 1-3 (21-25, 25-20, 28-30, 21-25). 

All-NEC selection Kale Spencer led the team in kills with 18, followed by fellow All-NEC selection Livan Moreno with 14. Moreno also led the team in aces with five. 

Kasey Clouet had a team-high eight blocks. 

Jack Sarnowski recorded a team-high and season-high 48 assists.

Gio Collazo led the team with seven digs.