Volleyball Falls to Bridgeport, 3-1
Box Score BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Sept. 29, 2015) - In a clash for first place in the East Coast Conference standings, the LIU Post volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision (24-26, 19-25, 30-28, 27-25) to University of Bridgeport Tuesday night at the Pratt Recreation Center.
The Pioneers (10-4, 2-1 ECC) consistently showed fight throughout the contest, rallying from deficits in three of the four sets. The two squads also went to extra points in the same three games.
Down 19-11 late in the first set, LIU Post used a 13-3 run to take a 24-22 lead and put itself one point away from securing an early edge in the match. Sophomore outside/middle/right-side hitter
Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) slammed down two kills and served an ace in that stretch to spark the comeback. A block by senior middle hitter
Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and freshman setter
Giulia Genna (Civitella San Paolo, Italy) put the green and gold in front.
Bridgeport (7-6, 3-0 ECC) wouldn't go away quietly though. Despite staring at a potential one-set deficit, the Purple Knights rallied with four unanswered points to take the game, 26-24.
UB then took the second set, 25-19, to open up a 2-0 advantage, but LIU Post battled back again in the third, and this time, captured a 30-28 victory to stay afloat.
Trailing by as many as five points early on, an 8-3 burst by the Pioneers soon evened the score at 14-all. Freshman outside hitter
Rachel Londot (Utica, Ohio) tallied back-to-back kills to start the run, while Hansen recorded the set-tying kill. The hosts eventually won the game, by way of a service ace from Genna.
LIU Post and Bridgeport exchanged a total of 13 tied scores and five lead changes in the third set. It was more of the same in the fourth, as the two teams traded 13 ties and swapped five leads.
During that fourth set, the Purple Knights established match point (24-22), off a kill by Sarah Rosa (Itajuba, Brazil). Yet, the Pioneers, after calling a timeout, got back-to-back kills from Hansen and Valenza to extend the game.
UB managed to put it away, however, to hand the green and gold their first ECC loss of 2015. An ace from Sara Cruz (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) was the clinching point in a 27-25 win.
Valenza led the Pioneers with 15 kills on the evening. She pitched in nine digs, as well. Londot amassed 13 kills, nine digs and two blocks. Hansen registered nine kills and four blocks. Junior middle hitter
Taryn McCullouch (Buena Park, Calif.) chipped in eight kills. Genna dished out 45 assists and scooped up 10 digs for a double-double. Senior libero
Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) and freshman outside/right-side hitter
Navah Evans (Oakland, Calif.) recorded 22 and 11 digs, respectively.
Head Coach
Shellane Ogoshi and her LIU Post squad are right back at it Thursday (Oct. 1), when they welcome in University of New Haven for a 7 p.m. first serve at the Pratt Recreation Center. In their season-opening meeting at the Bentley University Invitational on Sept. 4, the Pioneers defeated the Chargers, 3-1.