FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The D'Youville University Men's Volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to the Sacred Heart University Pioneers on Saturday night.

D'Youville University 1 at Sacred Heart University 3 – 25-19, 23-25, 20-25, 21-25

Set One
After falling behind 5-4 in the first set, the Saints kicked into high gear. D'Youville managed a four-point run with a Pioneers error and kills from Ethan Robinson (Toronto, Canada), Randy Adorno (Bayamon, Puerto Rico / Winter Park), and Tymek Brzoza (Tychy, Poland / NLO Jastrzebski Wegiel) to take the 8-5 lead. As match play continued, the Saints extended their lead to 20-15 from another Pioneers error and kills from Haven Wankerl (Cross Plains, Wisc. / Middleton) and Jacob Malak (Wales, Wisc. / Kettle Moraine). The Pioneers tried to fight back, but D'Youville could not be stopped and took the set 25-19.

Set Two
The Pioneers took the early lead in set two, but the Saints worked to keep things close until the Pioneers started to pull away at 14-9. D'Youville managed to close the gap after a kill and a service ace from Spencer Boakye (Union, N.J. / Union) brought the score to 20-19 with the Saints trailing by one. The Pioneers kept working to bring the score to 24-20 and despite a kill and a service ace from Jacob Malak, the Pioneers would take set two 25-23.

Set Three
Sacred Heart took the early 15-9 lead in the third set, but the Saints continued to chip away until the Pioneers led 20-14. A Pioneers error, kill form Wankerl, and two service aces in a row from Jacob Malak brought the Saints within two at 20-18, but the Pioneers came back to score four in a row of their own. Ethan Robinson got the last kill for the Saints, but the Pioneers would take set three 25-20.

Set Four
The Saints took the early 5-1 lead in the fourth set to stay alive, but the Pioneers worked their way back to tie the game at six. From there, the Pioneers took the lead, but the Saints continued to chip away to stay close and would bring the game within one at 17-16 after two kills from Ian De Wilde (Lockport, N.Y. / Starpoint) and a Pioneers error. The Pioneers made another run and after a final kill from De Wilde, the Pioneers would take the fourth set 25-21 and the match 3-1.
 
Saints Stats
Randy Adorno was the star for the Saints recording 44 assists in the set while Jacob Malak led with 14 kills, three service aces, and two blocks. Nathan Dishaw (Carolina Beach, NC / Kettle Moraine) recorded seven digs and Spencer Boakye led with three blocks to hold down the defense for the Saints.

Up Next
The Saints return to Buffalo next weekend for two NEC matchups. D'Youville will take on LIU on Friday, February 23rd at 7:00 PM followed by a matchup against FDU on Saturday, February 24th at 2:00 PM.