The Sacred Heart University men's volleyball team dropped a 3-2 decision to visiting EIVA foe NJIT, Friday evening, at the Pitt Center.

Jakob Karlsson led the Pioneers with a 15-kill effort, hitting .619 on the night. Emerson Waumans and Shawn Tischler both recorded nine kills for SHU.

SHU hosts Princeton Saturday at 5 p.m. in the home finale. The match will be preceded by a ceremony honoring the Pioneer senior class

Records

NJIT           7-15; 4-7 EIVA      

SHU           5-13; 1-10 EIVA

First Set: NJIT 25-23

• NJIT scored first, before SHU answered that opening point with three unanswered to take the lead
• The set was tied four times, the last at 7-7 on a Pioneer service error before SHU scored four of the next six points
• A Piotr Namiotko kill moved the Highlanders within a point, 11-10, but SHU scored four unanswered, with two Shawn Tischler kills in the middle, to build a 15-10 edge and force a timeout
• The Pioneers scored first out of the timeout, but the Highlanders responded, pulling within three points, 17-14, after back-to-back blocks
• After a SHU hitting error made the score 20-18, the Pioneers took a timeout
• Alvaro Gimeno served an ace on the next point, as the Highlanders built to a 21-10 advantage
• A solo block by Cameron Tait gave the Highlanders set point
• Out of the timeout Robert Costigan had a kill to close within a point and force an NJIT timeout, but Namiotko recorded the set winner on the following service

Second Set: SHU, 25-21

• NJIT jumped out to a 6-1 advantage, with the Pioneers point coming via a Tischler kill
• A service error from Luca Berger jumped started the Pioneer offense to three straight points
• The lead extended back to four, 11-7, on a block by Namiotko and Berger
• Tayler Bloomquist recorded a kill on the next service as the Pioneers scored four of the next six points to close within a point, 11-10
• SHU was able to get within a point, 13-12, on a Waumans kill, but couldn't draw even and the Highlanders scored three straight points to open a 16-12 advantage and force a SHU timeout
• SHU rallied, tying the score at 19-19, on a block from Bloomquist and Waumans, but a Gimeno kill put NJIT back in front
• A Bloomquist kill was followed by a Highlander error to draw the Pioneers even, 21-21
• A long rally resulted in a kill by Karlsson to give SHU its first lead of the set, 22-21
• Out of an NJIT the timeout, Bloomquist had a kill, followed by a triple block by Bloomquist, Waumans and Karlsson, and SHU had a 24-21 edge
• After another NJIT timeout, Waumans put a swing on the floor for the win

Third Set: SHU, 29-27

• The third set began with ties at each of the first four points and finished with 17 ties and seven lead changes in total
• The first consecutive points scored came from a Karlsson kill and a Waumans ace to put Shu in front 6-4
• After a service error the Pioneer rattled off four straight points to take a 10-5 lead and force a Highlander timeout
• The lead pushed to 12-6 for the Pioneers, but a Gimeno kill, a Tait service ace and a Pioneer hitting error cut the deficit in half and forced SHU into a timeout
• NJIT scored on its first three services out of the timeout, knotting the score 12-12 and forcing another Pioneer timeout
• The NJIT run culminated at seven unanswered, and a 13-12 NJIT lead, before a hitting error ended the run, tying the set, 13-13
• Trailing 15-13, the Pioneers began a run of their own after a Gimeno service error, started a 4-1 run that put the Pioneers in front 17-16
• The squads traded points over the remainder of the set, with neither team leading by more than a point until back-to-back kills from Karlsson broke a 25-25 tie and gave SHU the set

Set Four: NJIT, 25-18

• A Costigan service ace gave SHU its only lead of the set, 4-3, after the teams exchanged the first six points of the set
• NJIT scored six of the next nine points to build a 9-7 advantage
• The lead fluctuated between two and three points for the Highlanders over the next 13 services, as they built at 15-12 lead that forced a SHU timeout
• A Highlander attacking error brought the Pioneers within two points, 16-14, before a Berger kill was followed by a Gimeno service ace and a Pioneer hitting error to balloon the lead to five and force a Pioneer timeout
• A Gimeno kill capped the 9-4 set ending run for NJIT to force a fifth set

Set Five: NJIT, 18-16

• The Pioneers jumped out to a 5-2 lead, on the strength of kills form Tischler and Waumans
• NJIT would rally to within a point 6-5, and the margin was still one on a Pioneer service error making it 8-7
• The Pioneers scored the next three points with a kill by Bloomquist sandwiched between Highlander errors
• Namiotko and Gimeno answered that run with back-to-back kills to cut the deficit in half, 11-9 and force a Pioneer timeout
• After an NJIT service error, briefly pushed the lead to three for SHU, the Highlanders rattled off three straight points, knotting the score 12-12 on a block by Bailey Mundy and Kevin Myren
• Waumans, Bloomquist and Tischler blocked a swing from Namiotko for a 13-12 edge, but the ensuing Pioneer serve went long, for the fifth tie of the set
• Namiotko's next service went into the next, giving SHU its first match point, 14-13, following the NJIT timeout
• NJIT blocked down a Pioneer attack for the 14-14 tie and Costigan followed with a kill, for a 15-14 edge and second match point for SHU
• Myren tied the score and a kill by Luca Berger gave NJIT its first match point, 16-15
• The Pioneers tied the score with a kill from Chatterton
• Gimeno's kill gave NJIT its second match point, and a block by Namiotko and Berger gave the Highlanders the win  

The Numbers

• NJIT finished with 67 kills and hit .388, while SHU recorded 54 kills and hit .256
• SHU recorded 3.5 blocks in earning the set two victory, and finished with 9.0
• NJIT hit .789 in earning the set four win, and had 29 kills against just five errors in the final two sets
• SHU held an 8-5 edge in service errors
• The match featured 39 ties and 14 lead changes
• Seven Pioneers recorded at least three kills in the match