JERSEY CITY, N.J. – The Saint Peter's volleyball team (5-11, 0-5 MAAC) dropped a highly competitive match to Sacred Heart (4-13, 1-4 MAAC) in five sets (25-19, 13-25, 26-28, 26-24, 11-15) on Saturday at Run Baby Run Arena. It was just the fourth time this season that the Peacocks have gone a full five sets.
Saint Peter's won the first and fourth sets to force a fifth set at home, but the Pioneers overcame the Peacocks' comeback effort and picked up their first conference victory of the season.
Indira T. Benitez Dumeng and
Valeria Pagan Munoz had standout performances for the Peacocks. Benitez Dumeng totaled 16 kills, six blocks and seven digs while Pagan Munoz had nine kills and 18 digs.
After being one dig short of a double-double a night ago,
Sibana Gonzalez Acevedo recorded a double-double against the Pioneers with 12 kills and 15 digs. She continues to be a force to be reckoned with on offense.
Defensively, Saint Peter's had trouble slowing down junior outside hitter Lauren Hubert, who led all players with 18 kills. The outside hitter trio of Hubert, Abbie Hagedorn and Ryleigh Short had impressive performances. Each Pioneer had a double-double (kills-digs).
HOW IT HAPPENED
SET ONE: Benitez Dumeng started the game laser-focused, recording four kills to help the Peacocks build an 11-7 lead over the Pioneers. Pagan Munoz then started to rack up some kills as Saint Peter's held onto its lead. Sacred Heart kept it close with kills of its own, but the Peacocks began to pull away later in the set. A block by
Karolina T. Rodriguez Mendez and
Jaizahir Marrero George put SPU up 19-15, while forcing a Sacred Heart timeout. Shortly after the timeout, Saint Peter's made it 23-19 with a kill, forcing another Sacred Heart timeout. Benitez Dumeng gave the Peacocks set point with an attack that floated over the net where no Pioneers were. Saint Peter's won the set, 25-19, after a Sacred Heart attack error.
SET TWO: The Pioneers jumped out to a 10-4 lead early in set two to force a Saint Peter's timeout. Following the break, Sacred Heart kept piling on points, building a 16-8 lead and forcing another Peacocks timeout. Later in the set, the Peacocks struggled to slow down the Sacred Heart attack as the Pioneers took set two, 25-13.
SET THREE: The Peacocks went down, 0-3, but quickly came back to make it a 5-5 set. The tie continued to 10-10 as both teams kept trading kills, but the Pioneers gained some separation to lead 15-11. Saint Peter's decided to call a timeout while trailing by four. The Saint Peter's front line started to get going, picking up back-to-back blocks to close the deficit to 13-16. The Peacocks came back and even took the lead at 22-21 after consecutive Sacred Heart attack errors. After a back-and-forth end of the set, it was a 25-25 tie. Sacred Heart took the lead on an SPU attack error, but Saint Peter's responded with a point of its own. The Pioneers then managed to notch two kills to win the set, 28-26.
SET FOUR: Saint Peter's and Sacred Heart battled to a 10-10 start in set four, with both teams hitting at least .350. After a successful Pioneers challenge, the Peacocks scored the next three points to lead, 13-10. Benitez Dumeng racked up three straight kills to elevate SPU over the Pioneers, 16-13. Following a Sacred Heart timeout, the Pioneers started to come back, tying the set, 19-19. The Peacocks found themselves trailing 24-23, but took a 25-24 lead following back-to-back points. Saint Peter's took set four, 26-24, with a kill from Torres.
SET FIVE: Sacred Heart established a quick, 3-0, lead to force an early Saint Peter's timeout. After the timeout, the Pioneers tacked on one more kill before Benitez Dumeng put an end to the run with a kill of her own. The teams switched sides after Sacred Heart went up, 8-4. The Pioneers held onto their lead before calling a timeout after two SPU points. The Peacocks trailed, 8-11, at the break. Out of the timeout, Sacred Heart returned the favor with two points. Saint Peter's called another timeout while down, 8-13. SHU reached match point with a kill, but then the Peacocks strung three points together to make it 11-14. The Pioneers won the set, 15-11, with a strike down the middle. They took the match, 3-2.
UP NEXT
The Peacocks have a week's rest before their next match against Merrimack. The game is at Run Baby Run Arena on Friday, Oct. 17, at 6 p.m. ET.
