NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.  — Sacred Heart University men's volleyball was on the road against Saint Francis Brooklyn, winning 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-21, 25-22). The Pioneers take the tiebreaker and claim the fourth seed in the NEC conference playoffs next week with another win against LIU tomorrow and a St. Francis loss.


The Pioneers would get out to an early 5-1 lead before the Terriers would go on a 12-8 run to even things at 13. The Terriers would keep things as close as a one point lead the rest of the set before SHU closed on a 3-0 scoring run on a couple Terrier errors and a Patrick Mucherino service ace.

SHU would lose the second set the same way it won the first by getting blanked on a 3-0 scoring run to end the set, their only lost set of the night. Carlos Santa Cruz would get four kills to help out Mucherino's six kills on the set, as Tyler Kwinta chipped eight assists to help keep it close at 21-25.

The Pioneers and Terriers would cancel each other out with each squad scoring ten a piece to start the third set, but five Teddy Payne assists helped the red and white to a 11-10 advantage. As the Pios ended the third set on a 14-11 scoring run, Payne would help with six more assists, contributing for nearly a third of the team's assists on the evening.

SHU would win the fourth set in thrilling fashion 25-22, as five different lead changes led to a Pioneer victory. PAyne would spread out 11 more assists for the victory.

Records:
Sacred Heart 10-12 (6-7 NEC)
Saint Francis Brooklyn 10-14 (5-8 NEC)

Top Performers:
Teddy Payne 24 assists, 1 block
Patrick Mucherino 14 kills, 3 aces, 9 digs
Ife Loverton 12 kills, 1 aces
Cole Younger 10 digs

Up Next:
The Pioneers will finish their regular season with NEC third seed LIU on Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m in Brooklyn.