Oct. 27, 2006

SHU Hosts FDU and Wagner in NEC Tilts... The Sacred Heart volleyball team welcomes Fairleigh Dickinson and Wagner to the Pitt Center this weekend in a pair of crucial Northeast Conference matches. The Pioneers are looking for two wins this weekend to stay in the hunt for one of the NEC's six playoff spots. SHU hits the road to close the NEC schedule with three matches.

Series Record vs. Fairleigh Dickinson... The Fairleigh Dickinson Knights lead the all-time series, 10-2. The Pioneer have lost three-straight in the series but did win the last time these two teams faced off in the Pitt Center. SHU posted a 3-1 win at home in 2004. Sacred Heart's other win in the series came in 2003, a 3-1 win at the Lafayette Tournament.

Series Record vs. Wagner... The all-time series is tied 5-5 after a 3-2 Wagner win earlier this season. The Seahawks have won the last two meetings, snapping what was a SHU five-match winning streak. SHU won three matches against Wagner in 2004, taking a 3-0 decision in the Sacred Heart tournament, a 3-2 win at the Yale tournament and a 3-2 NEC match. Wagner won the first three meetings in the series.

Scouting the Knights... The Knights are currently in fourth place in the NEC standings with a 2-2 conference record and are 14-10 overall this season. FDU owns wins over Quinnipiac and Wagner but lost to Central Connecticut and St. Francis-PA. Lauren Boothby is the team's offensive leader with 317 kills and a .308 (317-105-688) hitting percentage. Boothby also has 93 total blocks on the season.

Scouting the Seahawks... Wagner already owns a win over SHU this season, a 3-2 classic in the Pioneers Invitational back in September. The Seahawks are 1-2 in the NEC with a win over Quinnipiac under their belts. Brandy Barnett leads the team with 237 kills and 210 digs.

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 St. Francis-NY, Long Island and Quinnipiac to close out the NEC slate.

Last Time Out... Central Connecticut posted a 3-0 (30-18, 30-17, 37-35) win over Sacred Heart last Friday. Senior Brynn Good, junior Katie Karkow and sophomore Amanda Olmstead led the Blue Devils with 10 kills each, while Good added a match-high 39 assists and hit .467. Freshman Jamie Baumert added a nine-kill, zero-error performance, hitting for a match-best .600 attack percentage. SHU got eight kills from senior Justina Bell who also came up with eight digs. Freshman Katelyn Morin had six kills and hit .294 (6-1-17).

Porter in the Middle... Senior Charnette Porter leads the team in kills with 135 from her middle blocker position. Porter also leads the club with 22 solo blocks. She has a total of 56 blocks on the year.

Katie Thomas Leads the Defense... Sophomore libero Katie Thomas continues to lead the Northeast Conference in digs this season, coming up with 4.25 per game. Thomas has collected 277 in 62 total games this year. She also has 16 service aces.