Box Score PRINCETON, N.J. – The Sacred Heart University men's volleyball team upset No.10 Princeton Saturday afternoon on the road with a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory. This is the Pioneers' fifth straight win. SHU defeats the Tigers for the first time since 2017, halting an eight-match losing streak.
 
Records:
Sacred Heart: 5-6
Princeton: 6-5
 
Top Performers:
Patrick Mucherino: 17 kills (.143), 2 assists, 7 blocks, 6 digs, 22 points
Mark Berry: 16 kills (.538), 2 blocks, 2 digs, 18 points
Carlos Santa Cruz: 16 kills (.344), 6 digs, 17 points
Teddy Payne: 45 assists, 2 aces, 5 digs
 
How It Happened:
In the first set, the Tigers gained a lead of up to three until the Pioneers secured back-to-back block assists by Jaron Popp, Patrick Mucherino and Mark Berry. While they were able to tie, the Pioneers did not take a lead until Carlos Santa Cruz secured his first ace of the day at the 16-15 mark. The Pioneers fell 25-22 after a 4-2 run by the Tigers. The teams battled through 14 ties in the first.
 
The Pioneers grasped an early three-point lead in the second set. The Tigers were only able to come within one. Back-to-back aces by Dylan McClung secured the largest lead of the frame, 17-13, forcing a Princeton timeout. The Tigers went on a late 4-0 run to take the advantage from SHU 22-21. The Pioneers battled through Princeton's set point but fell short 27-25.
 
A pair of kills and an ace in the third created a five-point lead, 18-13, for the Pioneers after they were trailing early in the frame. Princeton could not come back because of a handful of errors and SHU took the third set 25-20. SHU out-hit the Tigers .370 to .217.
 
SHU claimed its first lead in the fourth set, 10-9, with block assists from Popp and Mucherino. The Pioneers then went on a 4-1 run with a pair of kills from Carlos Terrassa leading to a Tigers' timeout. Princeton regained the lead later in the set at 21-20. A necessary kill from Mucherino sent the match into back-and-forth set points resulting in a thrilling 33-31 win for SHU.
 
Princeton called the first timeout in the fifth after an ace from McClung gave the Pioneers a three-point lead, 9-6. The Pioneers maintained their lead and secured the 15-10 win following back-to-back kills from Berry.
 
Mucherino led the Pioneers with 17 kills, two assists, seven blocks and six digs. Both Berry and Santa Cruz tabbed 16 kills and hit .583 and .344, respectively. Libero Cole Younger picked up 17 digs and six assists. Setter Teddy Payne secured 45 assists, just two shy of his career high. 
 
Up Next:
The Pioneers return home Friday, Feb. 16, to face Daemen in the Northeast Conference (NEC) opener at 7:00 p.m.