Nov. 3, 2006

Sacred Heart Pioneers vs. St. Francis-NY - Saturday, November 4, 2006 - 1:00 pm EST

Sacred Heart Pioneers vs. Long Island - Monday, November 6, 2006 - 6:00 pm EST

Pioneers Travel to Brooklyn for a Pair of NEC Matches... The Sacred Heart volleyball team opens a three-game Northeast Conference road swing this weekend in Brooklyn, New York facing St. Francis-NY and Long Island. SHU has just three NEC matches remaining and is looking to snap an 0-5 league mark. The Pioneers are coming off a hard fought 3-2 loss at home to Wagner last Sunday as they head to winless St. Francis Saturday afternoon.

Series Record vs. St. Francis-NY... Sacred Heart leads the all-time series, 5-3. The Pioneers have won three-straight and five of the last six meetings between the two schools. SHU posted a 3-0 win at home last season, a 3-2 win on the road in 2004 and a 3-0 win at home in 2003.

Series Record vs. Long Island... LIU is unbeaten in the series, winning all 11 meetings. Long Island posted a 3-0 win earlier this season hosting the Long Island Blackbird Holiday Inn Express Challenge.

Scouting the Terriers... The St. Francis-NY Terriers are 0-20 overall on the year and 0-5 in the Northeast Conference. Jadelyn Castillo leads the team with 94 kills and 112 digs. Erin O'Shaugnessy has 74 kills.

Scouting the Blackbirds... Long Island is 19-10 overall and has won all six of their Northeast Conference matches. Shelby Heggie leads the team and is third in the NEC with a .345 hitting percentage (100-94-346). Martina Wagner lead the league with 503 kills, nearly 100 more then her closest rival. Lindsey Patty is the NEC leader in assists with 952 (11.07 pg).

Gametracker... Can't make it to the Pitt Center for a home game this year. No need to worry because starting this year, Pioneer Fans can follow all the action on their computer using Gametracker at SacredHeartPioneers.com. Just click on the Gametracker link on the Women's Volleyball Schedule page to follow each point.

Up Next... The Pioneers travel to Quinnipiac on Nov. 11 to close out the NEC slate and hosts New Jersey Tech on Sunday, Nov. 12 to close the season.

Last Time Out... Sacred Heart was led by freshman Katelyn Morin who finished with 16 kills and a career high .344 hitting percentage (16-5-32). Junior Christine Duffy had 12 kills in four games with five digs. Senior Charnette Porter posted 12 kills and two solo blocks. Junior Tiffany Phoenix has 21 digs in the loss. Sophomore Katie Thomas, the NEC leader in digs, came up with a match-high 31 from her libero position.

Porter in the Middle... Senior Charnette Porter leads the team in kills with 149 from her middle blocker position. Porter also leads the club with 24 solo blocks. She has a total of 60 blocks on the year.

Katelyn Morrin's Break Out Game... Freshman Katelyn Morrin had a stellar performance in the Pioneers five game loss to Wagner on Sunday. Morrin finished with a career-best 16 kills and a career high .344 hitting percentage (16-5-32).

Katie Thomas Leads the Defense... Sophomore libero Katie Thomas continues to lead the Northeast Conference in digs this season, coming up with 4.33 per game. Thomas has collected 316 in 73 total games this year. She also has 16 service aces.