BUFFALO, N.Y.  — Sacred Heart University men's volleyball was on the road against D'Youville University, winning 3-1 while winning three straight sets after losing the first.


The Pioneers would drop the first set to the Saints 25-22. Mark Berry and Ife Loverton recorded seven kills between them and Carlos Santa Cruz would contribute two more as SHU would force some errors in a long set to make it 23-22. A service and attack error would help the Saints get the opener.

The Berry, Loverton, Santa Cruz combo would record several more kills in the second set while Patrick Mucherino and Ryan Benscoter would also contribute for points as the squads would go neck and neck until a late 22-21 Pio lead. A couple of Saints errors and a Santa Cruz kill would get the Pios three straight points to put the set away 25-23.

SHU would take the third set by a 25-22 score. Mucherino, Benscoter, Loverton, Berry and Santa Cruz would all record at least one kill and force several D'Youville errors as they trailed 14-15. Mark Berry would record the next six Pioneer points as the teams would trade points and SHU would get out to a 20-18 lead. Mucherino, Santa Cruz and Loverton would help close out the third set for the Pios to get a pivotal third set win.

D'Youville would open the fourth set with four consecutive attack errors and Loverton and Santsa Cruz would chip in kills to give SHU an early 8-2 lead. The next four red and white points would come in favor of three service errors and a couple more attack errors would help SHU bump their lead to 14-7. Berry would grab two kills, Mucherino would get another and Tyler Kwinta would record one as well and a service ace as three more Saints service errors would put SHU on top 22-16 late in the fourth set. SHU would eventually win the match with a 25-18 last set victory.

Records:
Sacred Heart 9-12 (5-7 NEC)
D'Youville 10-11 (3-9 NEC)

Top Performers:
Mark Berry 17 kills, 17.5 points, 3 digs
Carlos Santa Cruz 13 kills, 13.5 points, 1 dig
Patrick Mucherino 9 kills, 14 points, 5 digs

Ife Loverton 7 kills, 12 points
Tyler Kwinta 41 assists

Up Next:
The Pioneers will finish their regular season with NEC road games in Brooklyn, N.Y. on back to back days against Saint Francis Brooklyn on Friday, April 14 at 5 p.m. and at LIU on Saturday, April 15 at 7 p.m.