The Sacred Heart University (SHU) women’s volleyball team is getting hot in the stretch run of the season. On Oct. 19 and 20, SHU notched wins over Rider and Saint Peter’s University, respectively, to improve their record in conference play to 5-4, ranking 6th in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) standings.
“This is an outstanding group of athletes,” said Head Coach Rob Machan. “The road has been a difficult thing for us but coming home and being able to sleep in our own beds and not being on a bus I think really helped them get recentered.”
The SHU women’s volleyball team playing against Siena College
in their first game at the renovated Pitt Center.
Greg Vasil, Sacred Heart University
Home court advantage will take a new meaning for SHU, as they unveil their newly renovated William H. Pitt Athletic and Convocation Center. Prior to its opening, home games were played at Notre Dame Prep.
“We were really excited, and I think it’s going to be nice to finally have a place to settle down and have some fans,” said senior Camryn Luginbuhl.
Luginbuhl has played a pivotal role in the team’s recent hot streak. In their Oct. 19 match against Rider, she accumulated a program record 30 kills.
“I can’t do it without everybody, I think our passing really carried and then Gaby [Zovko] getting me a lot of one on ones was the main reason I got that many kills,” said Luginbuhl.
Sophomore Gaby Zovko, a setter for SHU, also put up historical numbers against Rider. Zovko assisted on 51 of the teams 73 kills, tying the program record for assists.
“Our passing started off so strong,” said Zovko. “That just makes my job so much easier when the passing is on. I can really feed any hitter I want and give them the best opportunities to score.”
SHU has showed resilience in their wins, going on big runs to come back from early deficits. Their match with Rider was no exception. In the first set, SHU was down 23-19 before going on a 4-0 run to tie it up and eventually win the set. In the fourth set, SHU was tied 12-12 and went on a 9-0 run to take the set.
“We have grit, we’re fighters for sure,” said Luginbuhl. “I think our mentality coming into conference was we wanted to beat every team in this conference and kind of show who we were, and I think we’re doing a really good job.”
This past weekend gave the Pioneers their first opportunity to play home games at the Pitt Center. SHU rode the momentum from the Rider and St. Peter’s matchups and beat Marist on Saturday, before losing to Siena in three sets on Sunday. Despite the loss, the Pioneers maintained their sixth place ranking in the MAAC and will look to continue their resilient season through the final stretch of the season.
“Everyone on the team wants to compete; we want to work hard and that’s shown in practice,” said Zovko. “We do so many competitive drills in practice, and it really resonated in the game, and it was just so exciting to see.”
Going forward, SHU has seven games left to make moves in the standings. The MAAC Championship tournament will take place Thursday, Nov. 21 through Sunday, Nov. 24. SHU’s next game is today against Fairfield University at 7 p.m. in the Pitt Center.
