Volleyball Loses 3-1 Decision to NYIT in 2014 ECC Opener
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 16, 2014) - The LIU Post volleyball team kicked off the East Coast Conference portion of its 2014 schedule Tuesday night with a 3-1 loss against NYIT at the Pratt Recreation Center.
During the first set, the Pioneers (4-5, 0-1 ECC) jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. Freshman middle blocker
Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) put down two kills in that stretch. Junior libero
Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) served an ace, while sophomore middle hitter
Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) and freshman middle blocker
Heather Ball (Gilbert, Ariz.) combined for a block on the Bears' (5-4, 1-0 ECC) Emily Mankowski (Naperville, Ill.).
NYIT rallied though with three straight points to tie the score at 7-all, and the game was a see-saw affair from there. In a set that featured seven tied scores, the two squads were knotted at 22-all, until the visitors tallied the final three points to win the opener, 25-22.
LIU Post then suffered a tough 25-17 defeat in the second set, before bouncing back in the third. Up 7-6, the green and gold rolled off a 6-1 run to grab a 13-7 advantage. Senior middle blocker
Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) and junior middle hitter
Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) started and closed out the spurt with a kill, respectively.
The Bears rallied, however, and eventually evened things up at 20-all on a Karolina Moderova (Zatisie, Slovakia) kill. Yet, the Pioneers pulled away with five of the last six points, capped by an Adams kill, to take the game, 25-21.
In the fourth set, neither team held much of a lead. Holding onto a one-point edge (20-19), Moderova and Mankowski each notched a kill to widen NYIT's cushion to 22-19, forcing an LIU Post timeout. Mankowski would pick up two more kills for the Bears out of the break to help seal a 25-20 victory, and the match.
Valenza added another double-double to her resume, posting 12 digs and 10 kills. Senior setter
Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) dished out 25 assists. Adams totaled seven kills and four digs. Hansen and junior setter/outside hitter
Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) collected five kills apiece. Austin and Ball both had four blocks.
Head Coach
Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers return to action Thursday (Sept. 18), when they travel up to Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. for an ECC showdown at Mercy. First serve is set for 7 p.m.