FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team makes the long trip to western New York this weekend for Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) matches against Canisius and Niagara. 

SHU AT CANISIUS MATCH INFORMATION 
Sacred Heart at Canisius – Saturday, October 12; 12:00 p.m. 

SHU AT NIAGARA MATCH INFORMATION 
Sacred Heart at Niagara – Sunday, October 13; 1:00 p.m. 

LAST TIME OUT
The Pioneers split a pair of matches this past weekend in the state of Connecticut. First SHU throttled Merrimack in a sweep on Saturday at Fairfield University, hitting .313 as a team against the Warriors. Sacred Heart then suffered a four-set loss a Quinnipiac on Sunday afternoon. The Pios won the first frame but ended up dropping the next three sets. 

BLOCK PARTY
Cristina Montanez has been a menace in the middle for the Pioneers lately, as she has two matches in her last five with eight or more total blocks. She set a new career-high with nine blocks in SHU's thrilling five-set win over Manhattan on Sept. 28. She tied a career mark with eight assisted blocks in four sets against Quinnipiac this past Sunday. Montanez leads the team and is third in the MAAC with 58 total blocks. 

EFFICIENT OFFENSE
As a team, the Pioneers had one of their most efficient outings of the season in their sweep of Merrimack (10/5). SHU hit an impressive .313 as a squad against the Warriors on 96 attempts, just off of its season-high mark of .314 against Iona (9/29). 

Emily Sawyer, Montanez and Gaby Zovko all hit .700 or better in the match. Sawyer hit at a .800 clip on 10 attempts, tying a career-high with eight kills. Montanez tallied a .750 hitting percentage with six kills and three assisted blocks. Zovko racked up seven kills on 10 attempts for a .700 attack percentage.

LOOKING ACROSS THE NET
Canisius

• The Griffins have gotten off to a solid start in MAAC play this season, heading into this weekend with a 3-2 mark in the league. 
• Two of Canisius' league wins came at home at the Koessler Athletic Center, while the last was this past Sunday at Saint Peter's. 
• Senior Libero Jillian Hannan has been exceptional at the service line this season, as she leads the MAAC and is ranked 17th in the country with 31 aces.
• Hannan has also been a fantastic libero, being third in the league and 45th in the country with 272 digs. 
• Offensively, junior setter Ella Bourque has tallied 550 assists on the team's 733 kills, which ranks first in the conference.

Niagara

• The Purple Eagles are tied for second in the MAAC at the start of the season, owning a 4-1 record through five matches. 
• Niagara is a perfect 3-0 in home league matches, with its lone conference loss coming in five sets at Rider on Oct. 6. 
• Senior libero Bella Peroni has been one of the best players at her position in the country, ranking first in the MAAC and seventh in the country with 5.18 digs per set. 
• As a team, Purple Eagles are 25th in the country with 16.8 digs per set. 
• Senior middle blocker Laryssa Imbuzeiro has also had a strong start to the season, ranking first in the conference in total blocks (72) and blocks per set (1.31).