Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn. – A new era was ushered in Friday as the Sacred Heart University men's volleyball team played its first Northeast Conference contest. The Pioneers came out on top, 3-0 (25-17, 25-16, 25-19) over D'Youville at the Pitt Center.

Records:
Sacred Heart: 3-5, 1-0 NEC
D'Youville: 3-4, 0-0 NEC
 
Top Performers:
Patrick Mucherino: 14 kills, 4 blocks, .478 hitting %
Mark Berry: 11 kills, .529 hitting %
Tyler Kwinta: 31 assists
 
Up Next:
Sacred Heart wraps up its first NEC weekend on Sunday against Daemen at 11 a.m.
 
Of Note:
Sacred Heart got off to a hot starting, hitting .650 in the opening set on its way to a season-high .386 rate. The Pioneers were also sharp on defense as they held an 11-5 blocking advantage and 26-16 margin for digs.
 
The Pioneers gradually pulled away in the first set until a 3-0 run was capped by a Ryan Benscoter and Patrick Mucherino block that pushed the lead to 15-9. Carlos Santa Cruz punctuated a 4-0 second set run with a pair of aces stake SHU to a 15-8 lead.
 
Mucherino led all players with 14 kills while Barry posted his fourth-straight double-digit kill effort with 11 winners. Ife Loverton added nine kills and a match-high five blocks.