CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Sacred Heart University women's volleyball team defeated the hosting Bucs of Charleston Southern in the nightcap of day one of the Buc Dome Invitational to earn a split on Friday. 

The Pioneers handed the Bucs a 3-1 defeat Friday evening, winning the first, second and fourth sets. SHU opened the event with a morning defeat at the hands of Norfolk State. 

Gaby Zovko highlighted SHU's performances today, tallying a triple-double, her second of the season, in the Pios' victory over CSU. Zovko posted 29 assists, 10 kills and 10 digs. Zovko is now the eighth Division I player this season with multiple triple-doubles. 

Camryn Luginbuhl and Sydney Stanfield also did very well in the doubleheader, tallying 22 and 15 kills, respectively. Stanfield logged a season-best nine kills against the Bucs. Miliani Villarreal led the defensive efforts with 37 digs, recording 27 against the Bucs. Peyton Plant finished the nightcap with a career-best, tying 14 digs. 

Records:
Sacred Heart: 4-7
Norfolk State: 4-6
Charleston Southern: 3-9
 
Norfolk State 3, SHU 0
How It Happened:
The Pioneers opened the match by winning 10 of the first 18 points to take a 10-8 advantage. Luginbuhl was at the center of the early run, tallying three kills in the first 10 points to give SHU a spark. Unfortunately for the Pios, an 8-3 surge by the Spartans gave them the lead at 16-13. 

Sacred Heart was ready with an answer, retaking the advantage 20-19 with a 3-0 spurt before Norfolk State won three straight points to go ahead 22-20. The Pioneers quickly put together another 3-0 run to go ahead 23-22, serving for the win at 24-23 two points later. Unfortunately, the Spartans ended the set by winning four of the final five points to seal a 27-25 win. 

The second set started off tied at 10-all following the first 20 points. SHU again took an early advantage, leading 14-13. Norfolk State quickly answered with a 6-0 run to go up five, 19-14, before holding on to win the frame 25-21. 

Runs of 5-0 and 4-0 early in the third set gave the Spartans the momentum to take the frame 25-18 and the match 3-0. 

SHU 3, Charleston Southern 1
How It Happened:
After the Bucs jumped out to an early 5-3 advantage, SHU started to rally, tying the score at 8-8. The Pioneers continued to ride that momentum to a 13-8 lead, which forced a CSU timeout. Stanfield sparked the 6-0 run with the first two kills. The Bucs chipped away at the lead before tying the score at 17-all. SHU was ready for the challenge, going on a 3-0 spurt to rebuild an advantage it did not relinquish in the 25-22 victory. 

The second set also started with CSU going out to an early lead, 8-2. Trailing by as much as eight, 17-9, SHU started to rally. The Pios first put together a 5-0 run before a 6-1 spurt later on tied the set at 21-21. The Bucs took the advantage from there, earning set point at 24-22, but Sacred Heart answered by winning five of the final six points in the set to clinch an exciting 27-25 win.

After dropping a close third set, the Pioneers trailed the Bucs by three, 13-10, midway through the fourth. Following some back-and-forth play, SHU took back the lead with a fantastic 8-0 run. Sacred Heart took advantage of a couple of CSU errors and a pair of kills from Allison Murray. The Pioneers' surge gave them the momentum to secure the win 25-22, giving them the match in four. 

Up Next:
The Pios conclude the Buc Dome Invitational tomorrow morning with an 11 a.m. matchup against Western Illinois.