FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart men's volleyball team hit a season-high .412, the fourth best hitting percentage in program history, in its sweep of second place Harvard on Saturday afternoon at the William H. Pitt Center. The win is the third in the last four matches for the Pioneers, who move to .500 in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball (EIVA) play at 4-4 and are now 6-12 overall.

Austin Arcala led the offensive attack by matching a career-high of 22 kills, something he did twice in 2014 in matches that went at least four sets. The total was more than double any other player and just four shy of the entire Harvard team. He swung  .459 and added six digs.

Michael Comens added ten kills and a season-high three service aces and Taylor Bloomquist had six kills on .714 hitting. Bloomquist also led the matches with three block assists, while Joshua Ayzenberg led all players with nine digs. Eduardo Zardo and Noah Ricchetti split setting duties with 20 and 14 assists, respectively, with Ricchetti setting new season-highs with six digs and three kills.

In addition to its offensive performance, Sacred Heart held Harvard to just .187 hitting and finished with 43 kills compared to the Crimson's 26. SHU trailed just once, at 1-0 in the third set, as the Pioneers also held major advantages in assists (40-26), digs (31-21), and service aces (7-1).

Branden Clemens led Harvard (9-8, 5-3 EIVA) with eight kills and Marko Kostich had a match-high 21 assists for the Crimson.

The Pioneers will look to move above .500 in EIVA play when they host George Mason next Friday at 7 pm.

How it Happened

• First Set (25-17)- Sacred Heart came out with its best hitting set of the match, swinging .484 en route to pulling away with the opening set. The Pioneers opened with the first three points, all Arcala kills, and would lead throughout, as he registered 11 of his 22 kills on .625 hitting in the set. After a Zardo service ace made the score 7-2, Harvard would get no closer than four the remainder of the set.
• Second Set (25-15)- Just like the first, SHU took the first three points on an Arcala kill and then back-to-back Comens service aces. Harvard came back to tie it at three, but it was all Pioneers from there, as they went on a 10-2 run to pull away. Six of the ten points came on Crimson mistakes, and Arcala capped the flurry with a service ace for a 13-5 lead.
• Third Set (25-17)- Harvard took its first lead of the match with first point but that was the only lead it had. Down 9-5, the Crimson did manage to get within one at 9-8, but Sacred Heart answered with three straight points, capped by a Comens service ace, to take back control. The teams traded the next five points to make the score 14-11, but a Harvard service error and consecutive kills from Bloomquist and Ricchetti for a 17-11 advantage would put the match away for good.