FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team could not sustain its hot start Tuesday against Albany. The Pioneers fell 3-2 (19-25, 25-22, 22-25, 25-19, 15-12) to the Great Danes.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 12-8 
Albany: 9-13
 
Top Performers:
Sarah Ciszek (SHU): 48 assists, 17 digs, 11 kills
Jasmine Rogers (SHU): 9 kills, 18 digs
Dominique Felix (SHU): 11 kills, 14 digs
 
Up Next:
Sacred Heart is on the road this weekend, starting Friday at St. Francis Brooklyn.
 
Of Note:
Sacred Heart started the match by hitting .344 in the first set on its way to the 25-19 triumph. Unfortunately, the Pioneers hit .215 the rest of the way and the Great Danes had a .270-to-.239 advantage.
 
Albany made the plays late in set two then it was SHU's turn to pull out the third set down the stretch. Tied at 19-19, the Pioneers got kills from Reghan Palanchi and Jasmine Rogers to open a three-point lead. Mackenzie Eford finished the set with a kill. 
 
In the deciding set, Albany jumped out to a 7-2 lead that SHU could not overcome.
 
Named NEC Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week earlier in the day, setter Sarah Ciszek recorded her fifth triple-double, tying her for the national lead, with 11 kills, 48, assists and 17 digs. Olivia Fairchild and Dominique Felix each reached double-digit kills with 14 and 11, respectively. 
 
The Albany block was also formidable, as the guests had 16 rejections to the Pioneers' 10.