NEWARK, NJ—Sophomore Emerson Waumans notched a match-best 18 kills for visiting Sacred Heart, as the Pioneers defeated NJIT, 3-1 (25-20, 25-11, 13-25, 25-17), Friday evening in EIVA Conference action at the Fleisher Athletic Center.

With the win, Sacred Heart improves to 7-6 in the EIVA, 14-10 overall while the Highlanders drop its fifth straight, falling to 6-7 in the EIVA, 13-12 overall.

NJIT, still with an opportunity to advance to the EIVA Conference playoffs, the Highlanders must defeat the visiting Harvard Crimson on Saturday at 4pm.  In the first meeting, the Crimson swept the Highlanders, 3-0.

If the Highlanders win Saturday and Sacred Heart and George Mason both lose, NJIT and Sacred Heart will both end with a 7-7 mark in the EIVA.  The tiebreaker procedure for the two tied teams is game winning percentage, which can only be determined after Saturday's matches.
 
In addition to Waumas 18 kills, Christopher DeLucie followed with nine kills.  Setter Eduardo Zardo piled up a match-high 34 assists, including a match-best three service aces as the Pioneers held a slight edge over the Highlanders, 5-4.

Libero Joshua Ayzenbuerg notched 11 digs while Michael Comens and Taylor Bloomquist led all players with five block assists.

The Highlanders were led by senior outside hitter Jabarry Goodridge, who posted a team-best 17 kills.  Setter Ricardo Whitaker recorded 32 assists while Goodridge and libero Shannon Heckman each posted four digs.

Senior middle Luke Robbe led the Highlanders with five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assists).

In the first frame, the Pioneers raced out to a 10-3 advantage.  The Highlanders battled back, cutting the deficit to within four, 20-24, after a kill by Goodridge, but the Pioneers held on to a 25-20 win.

Sacred Heart got off to a quick start in the second frame, 8-3, and later extended its lead to 18-8.  The Pioneers never looked back, cruising to a 25-11 victory.

The Highlanders, which hit .500 in the third set as opposed to Sacred Heart, which finished -.176, got ahead 8-4 and pushed its lead to 14-7 after block assists by Whitaker and Luke Allmond.  NJIT closed out the frame on a 5-1 spurt, to win 25-13.

Both teams traded points early in the fourth frame and with the score tied at 6-6, the Pioneers went on a quick 5-1 run, taking an 11-7 lead, resulting in an NJIT timeout.  Sacred Heart scored five consecutive points, pushing its lead to 19-11 and went on to secure a 25-17 advantage to win the match, 3-1.

Prior to Saturday's 4pm start, the Highlanders will honor its graduating seniors – Jabarry Goodridge, Luke Robbe, Brad Thele and team manager Kayleigh McCabe in pregame ceremonies.