LORETTO, PA  — Sacred Heart University men's volleyball took on top seed Saint Francis University in the second round of the NEC Tournament Thursday night, losing 3-0 (25-23, 25-21, 25-19).

The Pioneers would play tough against the top seeded Red Flash in the first set, keeping the lead withing three at all times and even having a 23-23 tie towards the end of the set before SFU would win 25-23. Multiple kills from Carlos Santa Cruz, Mark Berry and Patrick Mucherino would help the Pios get 12 total on the set but would fall short due to eight Red Flash blocks.

SHU and SFU would split for 13 points a piece in the second set before the Red Flash would go on a 7-5 scoring run to make it 20-18. SFU would close on a 5-3 run to take the second set thanks to nine combined SHU errors and a .458 hitting percentage. Teddy Payne would spread out nine assists on the set for 11 SHU kills on 25 attack attempts.

The Red Flash would get out to an early 4-1 lead in the third set and never trailed thanks to Sacred Heart errors and a plethora of kills in the set. The Red Flash would lead by as many as eight points at the 23-15 mark before sweeping the match with a 25-19 score. SFU would get the edge in kills 20-10 thanks to a .576 hitting percentage on 33 attack attempts compared to a .333 hitting percentage on 24 attack attempts for SHU.

Records:
Sacred Heart 12-13 (7-7 NEC)
Saint Francis University 16-11 (12-2 NEC)

Top Performers:
Mark Berry 11 kills, 1 block, 11.5 points
Carlos Santa Cruz 8 kills, 5 digs, 8 points
Patrick Mucherino 6 kills, 6 points
Teddy Payne 27 assists, 1 block, 5 digs