OAKDALE, N.Y. (Oct. 21, 2014) - On Tuesday night, the LIU Post volleyball team had its four-match winning streak snapped by East Coast Conference rival Dowling, 3-1, at Dowling Gymnasium.

Despite dropping a 25-13 decision in the opening set, the Pioneers (13-11, 8-4 ECC) rebounded in the second game to tie the match at 1-1. Trailing 7-3, the green and gold rolled off a 9-2 run to grab a 12-9 lead. Freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) slammed down four kills over that stretch. Freshman middle blocker Heather Ball (Gilbert, Ariz.) had a kill and an ace.

The Golden Lions (15-8, 9-3 ECC) fought back, however, and eventually evened the score at 15-all. Yet, LIU Post, which hit at a .333 clip in the set, tallied five unanswered points, en route to the 25-20 victory. Sophomore middle/right-side hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) served two aces in the burst, and accounted for the game-clinching point with a kill.

Up 10-9 in the third set, Dowling scored four points in a row, sparked by a Jessica Kalbfleisch (Ridge, N.Y.) kill, to widen its advantage to 14-9. The Golden Lions built as much as a 24-18 cushion in the game, but the Pioneers wouldn't go away quietly. The visitors, on a Ball serve, cut their deficit to as few as one point (24-23) on a Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) kill.

It wasn't enough though. Out of a Dowling timeout, senior middle blocker Dragana Jelovac (Tival, Montenegro) slammed down a kill to secure the 25-23 win.

The fourth set saw a back-and-forth battle that went to extra points. The Pioneers and Golden Lions exchanged 16 tied scores and eight lead changes, while neither team held an advantage of more than four points. The two squads had their opportunities to either force a fifth set or win the match, but a service ace from Dowling's Kayla Morgan (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) at 28-27 put the contest away for good.

Valenza finished with a match-best 16 kills on a .268 attack percentage. Hansen registered 15 kills and five blocks. Austin amassed 16 digs, eight kills, two aces and two blocks. Senior setter Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) and junior setter/outside hitter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) dished out 22 assists apiece. Amador also collected six kills, six digs and three aces. Junior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) tied Austin and Kalbfleisch for the match-high in digs (16).

Head Coach Shellane Ogoshi and her LIU Post squad are back in action Thursday (Oct. 23), when they complete the road portion of their 2014 schedule at Molloy in Rockville Centre, N.Y. First serve is slated for 6 p.m.