Three Players Tally Double-Digit Kills as Volleyball Tops AIC, 3-1
Box Score
BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 28, 2013) - After dropping the first set of the match, the LIU Post volleyball team answered back with a 3-1 victory over American International Saturday afternoon at the Pratt Recreation Center in Brookville, N.Y.
With the win, the Pioneers improved to 10-3 on the season, while the Yellow Jackets dipped to 8-7 overall.
Following a 27-25 loss in the opening stanza, the Pioneers responded with decisive wins in the next three sets, not allowing the visitors to reach the 20-point mark in any of the three.
The first set was a close match-up between the two teams, as neither side led by more than four points at any point in the game. The home squad had set point (25-24), but the visitors closed out the game with a kill and two Pioneer attack errors to secure the win. Three members of the visiting squad, along with junior Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) and freshman Shelby McCool (Eugene, Ore.), finished the first set duel with four kills.
The Pioneers came back with a 5-2 run, capped off by an Adams kill, to open the second set. With the score tied at 14-all, the green and gold scored six straight points to take a 20-14 lead that they would not relinquish. The hosts finished the game with three straight points (25-16) off an AIC attack error, sandwiched by kills from junior Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) and senior Makamae Namahoe (Hilo, Hawaii). Adams once again led in the kills column, this time with five. Centro tossed up her most assists in the set with 13. Sophomore libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) tallied a set-high 11 digs.
With the two squads tied at 14-up in the third set, the Pioneers once again pulled away, closing out the set on an 11-4 run to take the win at 25-18. Namahoe was the closer for the second-straight set, knocking down the final kill of the set to help her squad to a 2-1 match lead. Bailey Swan and Britt Bryant of AIC led the set with five kills each, while Adams led the Pioneers for the third-straight set with four kills. The Pioneers as a whole finished the set with five total blocks, with senior Susy Cricchi (Borgovelino, Rieti, Italy) paving the way with three block assists.
The Pioneers held the Yellow Jackets to a .000 attack percentage in the final set, allowing just five kills, as they took the game, 25-15, to secure the 3-1 victory. The final point of the game came off a kill by freshman Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii), with the assist from sophomore Katie Barto (East Rockaway, N.Y.). Sophomore Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) led the way with six kills on the set, while Namahoe dug up a set-high 10 balls.
LIU Post was led by a trio of players to finish with double-digit kill totals - Adams (15), Cricchi (11), and Hansen (10). Nine different Pioneers registered at least one assist, with Centro recording 38 of the Pioneers' 55 helpers. Namahoe and Ringor each eclipsed the 20-dig mark, with Namahoe tallying 26 to Ringor's 22.
On the day, the Pioneers totaled 10 blocks, with five block assists credited to each Hansen and Cricchi, while the Yellow Jackets finished with four.
Next on the schedule for the Pioneers is a trip to neighboring NYIT for a 7 p.m. match-up on Tuesday (Oct. 1).