Box Score FAIRFIELD, Conn.  — Sacred Heart University men's volleyball had their senior night Saturday at the Pitt Center, losing to Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 in a thrilling five set match. Graduating players Gregory DeGeorge, Tyler Kwinta, Ardian Kodzodziku and Nick Galasso were recognized in pregame ceremonies for their careers with the Pioneers.


The Pioneers would start off hot to go up 14-6 early in the first set with kills from Patrick Mucherino, Ife Loverton and Ryan Benscoter as well as several errors from Fairleigh Dickinson. Mucherino and Mark Berry would contribute services aces in the process. Galasso would contribute for three kills while the Knights nine combined errors on the set would allow for a 25-21 first set victory. The Pios would lead by as many as six points while getting the edge in kills 14-9 off 14 assists, outhitting the Knights .409 to .222 in the opening set.

FDU would flip the script to start the second set, getting out to a 15-10 lead on the Pios thanks to Knight kills and red and white service errors, leading by as many as four points on three separate occasions. The Pioneers would only grab nine points after that, dropping the second set 25-19. The Knights would steadily control a sic to seven point advantage after getting out to an early lead, outhitting the Pios .563 to .333 on two less attack attempts and two more kills while the squads gridlocked at nine combined errors each for the set.

The third set would show for a tight contest throughout, as FDU would get out to a 5-1 start but never lead by more than four as SHU would go point for point with kills from Berry, Benscoter, Mucherino and Loverton up until 17-17 with helpful errors on the Knights end. The Knights would close the set on an 8-4 run, closing the middle frame with seven fewer errors than the red and white while the Pios would edge the Knights on attack attempts 32-25 and kills 13-12.

The squads would trade the first 16 points of the fourth set thanks to several FDU errors and four Pioneer kills, the first coming from Carlos Terrassa on a Kwinta assist. The Knights would go on a 7-4 run before Benscoter, Berry and Mucherino kills mixed in with several FDU errors would tie it at 18-18. A FDU error and another Terrassa kill would give SHU their first lead since 1-0 to begin the set at 20-19. The Pios would even the match at two sets each as a result of securing the fourth set 25-21 after keeping the Knights at bay.

In the final set, SHU would get out to a 4-1 but FDU responded to make it 5-5. the teams would stay gridlocked up until 9-9 thanks to Terrassa and Berry kills. Two more Berry kills on Kwinta assists would gridlock the squads at 15-15 in the deciding set. FDU would eventually end the final set on a service ace.

Kwinta, who ranks 4th in NEC with 8.93 assists per game, extends his career high in assists for a season to 550.


Records:
Sacred Heart 7-11 (4-6 NEC)
Fairleigh Dickinson 5-15 (2-8 NEC)

Top Performers:
Tyler Kwinta 41 assists, 1 block, 5 digs
Patrick Mucherino 17 kills, 1 ace, 2 blocks, 19.5 points
Mark Berry 18 kills, 1 ace, 19.5 points, 2 assists
Ife Loverton 8 kills, 3 blocks, 10 points

Up Next:
The Pioneers will be back at the Pitt Center Tuesday at 7 p.m. as they welcome American International College for their final home game of the season.