CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Sacred Heart men's volleyball team had no answer for a Harvard offense that hit .389 en route to a sweep of the Pioneers on Saturday afternoon at Malkin Athletic Center. The loss is SHU's third straight, dropping it to 3-4 in the Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association and 3-11 overall. 

Only registering five more kills than Sacred Heart, Harvard (8-6, 5-2 EIVA) hit at least .379 in each set, and held the Pioneers to just .191 hitting for the match. In a balanced attack, five Crimson players had at least seven kills, led by Brendan Clemons' 11. Casey White had a near double double, falling one kill shy on .471 hitting as he racked up a match-high 21 digs. Moore added eight behind a .800 hitting performance.

Michael Comens led all players with 13 kills on .375 hitting for Sacred Heart. Christopher DeLucie was right behind him with 12. Joshua Ayzenberg had 11 digs.

SHU will take a break from EIVA play, beginning a six-match home stand on Sunday when it welcomes McKendree to the Pitt Center for a 5 pm start.

How it Happened

• First Set (19-25)- Sacred Heart led 6-4 early, but Harvard scored seven of the next nine points for the set's first three point lead, 11-8. SHU came back to tie it at 11, 12 and 13, but two straight kills by Trevor Dow and White put the Crimson up for good. After Harvard went up 20-16 with consecutive kills from Brad Gretsch and Clemons, the Pioneers got as close as 21-19 on a DeLucie kill, but the Crimson would take the final four points of the set.
• Second Set (21-25)- It was Sacred Heart jumping out to yet another 6-4 lead, but this time Harvard made its move early, rattling off the next seven points, capped by White's second kill in the stretch. Down 17-10 moments later, SHU came roaring back with five unanswered of its own, taking advantage of three attack errors before DeLucie cut the deficit to just two. The Crimson took a timeout and after trading points to make the score 18-16, Riley Moore registered three of the next four points to help Harvard pull away for a commanding two-set lead. 
• Third Set (20-25)- Trailing by as many as three early, Sacred took its first two-point lead, 16-14, when DeLucie followed two straight Comens kills with one of his own. Just as they had in the opening two sets, Harvard had a run in them, taking the next four points to regain an 18-16 advantage and force a SHU timeout. DeLucie brought the Pioneers back within one out of that timeout, but the Crimson proved to be too much, again scoring four in a row with a SHU error capping an eventual match-clinching 9-1 run.