FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A hot start almost flamed out for the Sacred Heart University men's volleyball team on Saturday in its season opener against Daemen College. The Pioneers rallied to win the fifth set for the 3-2 (25-18, 25-18, 20-25, 21-25, 15-12) triumph.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 1-0 
Daemen: 1-1
 
Top Performers:
Patrick Mucherino (SHU): 11 kills, 5 digs, .529 hitting percentage
Ife Loverton (SHU): 9 kills, 6 blocks, .400 hitting percentage
Carlos Santa Cruz (SHU): 7 kills, .778 hitting percentage.
 
Up Next:
SHU is on the road next week for the AIC Classic where it will face Emmanuel and Lasell on Friday.
 
Of Note:
Sacred Heart took the first two sets thanks to strong starts at the beginning of each frame. The Pioneers hit .481 in the opening two sets, while limiting the Wildcats to .136.
 
Daemen turned the tables by taking the third and fourth sets thanks to a number of Sacred Heart miscues. SHU hit -.004 in the third while Daemen was at a .448 rate in the fourth.
 
Sacred Heart took advantage of numerous Daemen errors in the fifth set. The Wildcats committed three early service errors. Patrick Mucherino followed a kill with two aces to staked SHU to a 9-5 lead.
 
The Wildcats pulled even, 9-9, but out of a time out, SHU got a kill from Mark Berry then a Daemen hitting error gave SHU all the cushion it would need.
 
Five different Pioneers had five or more kills, led by Mucherino's team-high 11 winners. Ife Loverton followed with nine and produced six blocks.