NEWARK, NJ—Sacred Heart came to NJIT and swept the Highlanders, 3-0, Tuesday night in Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association Hay Division competition in the Estelle and Zoom Fleisher Athletic Center.

The scores for the victorious Pioneers were: 25-18, 25-22, and 25-22.

The Pioneers, who topped the Highlanders 3-1 at home in Fairfield, CT, on March 1 are 5-2 in the EIVA Hay and 11-8 overall. Sacred Heart lost its next five matches after its first win over NJIT. But the Pioneers have righted the ship and the latest win over the Highlanders extends SHU's latest winning streak to four straight matches. NJIT drops to 6-19 overall and 0-6 in the division.

Freshman Enzo Mackenzie, the reigning EIVA Hay Player of the Week, generated a match-best 16 kills for Sacred Heart and also served two aces and shared match honors with 4 blocks (2 solo, 2 assisted). Mackenzie's 16 kills came with just 2 errors on 28 swings for a .500 hitting percentage.

Classmate Bradley Borsay finished with 13 kills, 3 aces and 7 digs. Senior setter Tim Sadowski finished with 35 assists. On defense, senior Craig Harvey notched 12 digs, while Mackenzie and Patrick Sibley each had 4 blocks (Sibley's were all assisted).

The kills leader for NJIT was sophomore Adam Feehan (8) and Matthew Lui posted 21 assists. Three different players accounted for the Highlanders' three service aces.

Matthew Lui checked in with 12 digs to lead the floor defense and Doug Battersby led the home blockers with 3 block assists. The team blocks showed Sacred Heart with an 8.5-to-5.5 advantage. However, the winners found many more holes in the opposing defense, registering a .303 team attack percentage to .159 for NJIT.

The first set was close up until the midway point, after which Sacred Heart dominated. There were nine ties up to 12-12, but the Pioneers gained permanent separation with four straight points and NJIT never got closer than three points the rest of the way. Sacred Heart's biggest lead of the set was eight, at 21-13 and 24-16. Borsay led the SHU attack with 4 kills in the opening set 25-18 win.

The second set stayed closer longer and featured 12 ties and seven lead changes. Down a point at 18-19, NJIT surged into a one-point lead, 20-19 with two consecutive points. Sacred Heart drew even on a kill by Mackenzie.

A Battersby kill gave the Highlanders what would be their final lead of the set, 21-20, before the visitors ran off three straight points. The Pioneers soon closed out the set with a block by Mackenzie and Mike Komlanc, followed by a Mackenzie ace. Mackenzie, the freshman star from Brazil, had 7 kills in the set.

The third set, too, was a 25-22 Sacred Heart win. Even though the final total was the same as in the second set, there was only one tie. The Pioneers took control early, going up 10-4 and maintaining a comfortable cushion all the way to 24-18.

Set and match point proved elusive, however, as NJIT held off elimination with four straight points before Mackenzie sealed the deal with a kill. NJIT's late four-point run included two kills for Andrei Stoyanow, playing with a broken nose, and a block by Rafal Kierznowski and Adam Gustafson. Mackenzie had 6 kills in the final set and Borsay had 5.

Next up for the Highlanders is another EIVA Hay Division match on Saturday at 3 pm against Harvard in the Fleisher Athletic Center.