Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 15, 2010) -  After a sluggish start to the evening's match-up with the University of New Haven, the C.W. Post volleyball team responded with a 25-20 victory in the third set, and battled a tough Charger point-for-point in the fourth set, but New Haven came out the winner in four sets, 25-18, 25-17, 25-20, 25-23 in a non-conference match on Wednesday evening at the Pratt Recreation Center.

C.W. Post now stands at 6-3 overall while New Haven improves to 6-1.  ­

Outside hitter Marilena Guadagnini (Huntington Beach, Calif.) registered double-digit kills for C.W. Post, with 11, while freshman libero Stephanie Coufal (Littleton, Colo.) led the squad with nine digs. Senior setter Amanda Ostapow (East Setauket, N.Y.) had a solid night with 30 assists.

New Haven ran out to a 5-1 early in the first behind, but the Pioneers ran off five straight points of their own to take a 6-5 lead. Evenly matched through the four points, the Chargers began to pull away and took a 20-13 edge. Although C.W. Post got close, pulling to within 24-18, New Haven closed out the match with a kill from Keidy Candelaria, who had a match high 16 on the night.

Game two was a similar affair, with the Pioneers hanging with the Chargers in the early going, but New Haven reeled off a 12-4 run as the Pioneers could not find any offensive rhythm, and at 22-11, the Chargers easily closed out the set.

However, C.W. Post found a spark in the third set, as the two teams battled point for point, with the score knotted at nine before Guadagnini's service ace and two attacking errors by the Chargers put the Pioneers ahead, 12-9. New Haven got close at 12-11, but the Pioneers pulled away behind a kill by freshman outside hitter Shayla Hixson (Honolulu, Hawaii), followed by a service ace from the freshman, that put the score at 15-11. C.W. Post held off the chargers the rest of the way, taking the third set 25-20.

The fourth set saw C.W. Post pick up with the same intensity that the third match had sparked, and New Haven was again unable to put any space between themselves and the hosts, with one team scoring and the other team matching point for point. Neither team led by more than two points all the way until 23-23, but a kill and a service error gave New Haven the 25-23 final as well as the 3-1 win. 

C.W. Post won the block battle, 12 to 5, each team had six aces, but New Haven took the rest, including a 10-kill advantage and 47 assists to 33 for the hosts.  

The Pioneers will compete in the NE-10/ECC Challenge, held in Massachusetts, this upcoming weekend as they take on Merrimack on Friday at 7 p.m., followed by Bentley on Saturday at 10 a.m. and UMass-Lowell at 1 p.m., before rounding out the weekend with a home match, hosting LeMoyne at the Pratt Recreation Center at 11 a.m.