Volleyball Hands Bridgeport First Conference Loss with 3-2 Victory
Box Score
BRIDGEPORT, CONN. (Oct. 9, 2012) - Senior middle blocker
Lisa Delfs (Canandaigua, N.Y.) recorded six kills in the final set to lead the LIU Post volleyball team to an exciting 3-2 (25-21, 21-25, 18-25, 25-19, 21-19) win over the University of Bridgeport who was previously unbeaten in conference play.
LIU Post improves to 12-10 (3-3 ECC), while Bridgeport falls to 12-3 (5-1 ECC).
The Pioneers took the early lead with a first set victory. Behind strong serving by freshman
Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii), LIU Post was able to jump out to an 8-2 lead. Ringor recorded three service aces during that run. One point away from dropping the first set and down 24-12, the Purple Knights called a crucial timeout that spurred a 9-0 run to bring the score to 24-21. Unfortunately for the Purple Knights, Michele Santos' ninth serve resulted in a service error to award the Pioneers the 25-21 set win. Six different Pioneers recorded at least one kill during the first set with Delfs leading the way with three.
Makamae Namahoe (Hilo, Hawaii) had a set-high eight digs. Bridgeport's Biljana Savic led the way with four kills on the set.
The second set ended with the same score as the first, but with Bridgeport edging out LIU Post to even the match at one set apiece. Once again, the Pioneer attack was evenly spread with five players recording at least one kill. Sophomore
Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) knocked down four kills in the set for the Pioneers, while Savic and Ying Shen recorded five apiece for the Purple Knights.
Determined to defend their home court, the Purple Knights opened up the third set with a 9-1 run behind three service aces by Savic. Bridgeport's early run proved to be too much for LIU Post, with the Pioneers only able to cut the lead down to four points late in the set, but took the set loss 25-18. Savic and Shen both recorded five kills each for the second straight set. Delfs registered three kills for the third straight set. Namahoe led all players with seven digs.
Refusing to go down without a fight, the Pioneers won the fourth set 25-19. The only score ties of the game were seen at 1-1 and 4-4, and the Pioneers never let the Purple Knights pull ahead of them for even a single point. Bridgeport was able to pull within a point of LIU Post multiple times throughout the set, but the Pioneers persevered in keeping the match alive. Delfs once again led the Pioneers with four kills, along with Namahoe and Adams each tallying three. Namahoe added seven digs for the second consecutive set. The Purple Knights' Sabrina Simas had the set-high kill total with four.
With the match now coming down the final set, both squads realized that the win could be theirs. This set posted the most score ties on the night with 13. Bridgeport had match point with the score 14-13, but freshman
Harlee Meyers (Kailua, Hawaii) would register a kill off a feed from
Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) to tie the score at 14. A few points later, Bridgeport once again had match point with the 19-18 advantage, but an Adams kill sandwiched by two Shen errors secured the win for the Pioneers. Adams and
Susy Cricchi (Borgovelino, Rieti, Italy) combined for the block on the final point for the Pioneers. Delfs' six kills in the fifth set were the highest by any player in any set on the night. Savic recorded her third set with five kills for Bridgeport.
The Pioneers recorded 14 total blocks, the second highest total on the season. Delfs finished the night with 19 kills and six blocks. Adams registered a double-double by tallying 12 kills and 12 digs along with seven block assists. Centro also registered a double-double with 34 assists overall and 10 digs. Cricchi was the final Pioneer with a double-digit kill total racking up 10 along with seven block assists. Five total Pioneers registered double-digit dig totals: Namahoe, Ringor, Adams, Meyers, and Centro.
Bridgeport's Savic led all players on the court with both 20 kills and 29 digs. Four teammates also recorded double-digit dig totals, and Shen and Simas also had at least 10 kills apiece. Fernanda Silva recorded a match-high 48 assists.
The Pioneers travel to the University of the District of Columbia on Thursday, Oct. 11 to continue this week's ECC action.