Box Score NEW BRITAIN, CONN. (October 19, 2014)—The Sacred Heart women's volleyball team set a new NCAA Division I single-set scoring record today when they took the fourth set from the Central Connecticut State Blue Devils 46-44. Freshman Lila Palmer (Cypress, Texas) had one of the strongest showings of her young career in the five-set loss. The rookie tallied a career-best 18 kills while hitting .282.
Combining for 125 points throughout the five sets, the Pioneers also tied the all-time NCAA Division I total points scored in a five-set match record. Sacred Heart ties Michigan vs. Pepperdine from Sept. 10, 2011 and Fordham vs. Fairfield from Oct. 29, 2008.
CCSU edged out the Pioneers in the first set 25-23 before Sacred Heart controlled the second set only allowing the Blue Devils 11 points. Behind the strong serving of senior Sara Fernandez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico) SHU jumped out to a 12-3 lead and never slowed down. Palmer led the set with six kills, including the final blow that gave the Pioneers the 25-11 win. As a team, Sacred Heart hit .519 in the set, committing just two errors.
Sacred Heart took an early 5-1 lead in the third set thanks to four consecutive kills from Makayla Dole (Cypress, Calif.), Katie Direnzo (Shelton, Conn.), Palmer and Karly Shockey (Chino Hills, Calif.), but the Blue Devils came back to tie the score at 11. A kill from Makenna Lommori, who led the match with 35 kills, gave CCSU the lead that they held onto through the 25-19 win.
The Pioneers were off to another good start in the fourth set. When a Shockey ace gave Sacred Heart an 8-4 lead, CCSU called a timeout to rally the troops. It worked, as the Blue Devils used a 7-3 run to tie the score at 11, and a SHU attack error to take their first lead of the set. CCSU maintained the lead to set-point, 24-21, but a kill from Direnzo sparked a four-point SHU run to put the Pioneers back on top, 25-24. Both teams were fired up during the extra points, never allowing their opponent more than a point at a time. With neither team willing to let the game go, the score rose into the forties. Tied at 44, Tori Kemper (Banks, Ore.), who led the Pioneers with 11 kills in the record-breaking set, drilled a kill to the back corner giving Sacred Heart the advantage. Moments later, it was Kemper again who drilled the ball for the record-breaking point.
The previous NCAA Division I single-set scoring error of the 25-point set era (2001-present) was 45 set on Oct. 23, 2009 in a match between Manhattan and Rider.
After a remarkable fourth set, both teams refused to give up battling for the win in the fourth set. The teams exchanged points with the score tying on seven occasions and the lead changing hands three times. With the score knotted at 10-10, CCSU strung three points together that would be the difference in the set.
Sacred Heart returns home next weekend to host the Saint Francis Red Flash on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. and the Robert Morris Colonials Sunday at 1:00 p.m.
