Volleyball Falls at New Haven, 3-1
Box Score WEST HAVEN, Conn. (Oct. 7, 2014) - The LIU Post volleyball team suffered a four-set defeat at the hands of New Haven Tuesday night at Charger Gymnasium. The Chargers took the match with game scores of 25-19, 25-22, 19-25 and 25-22.
The Pioneers (8-10) picked up the opening point of the match on an attack error, but that was the only lead the green and gold would have in the first set. The team eventually tied the game at 9-all and 10-10, but kills by Margo Meteyer (Madison, Wis.) squashed the chances for the Pioneers to go in front again. Consecutive service aces by Meteyer gave New Haven a 13-10 edge and the Pioneers never recovered from there. Two straight kills from junior middle hitter
Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) would pull LIU Post to within four points, but UNH (11-4) capitalized on two straight attack errors to take the opening game of the match.
The second set started in a similar fashion to the first game, as LIU Post scored first on a service error by the Chargers. New Haven would capture the lead and hold a 7-5 advantage, but the Pioneers started a run with a kill by sophomore
Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii). The next three points went the way of the green and gold on two service aces by junior
Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) and a combined block by senior outside hitter
Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) and freshman middle blocker
Heather Ball (Gilbert, Ariz.). The Pioneers soon built a 19-14 lead and seemed destined to level the match at one set apiece, but New Haven won the next seven points to go up 21-19. LIU Post battled back to tie the stanza at 22-22, but the Chargers pulled away on two Pioneer errors and a kill by freshman middle hitter Lexis Peterson (Windsor, N.Y.).
The Pioneers scored eight of the first 10 points in the third set, propelling the team to the 25-19 win. A service ace by Amador secured momentum for the Pioneers, as they built an 8-2 lead on the strength of two service aces by Austin and a kill by Adams. The lead would increase to a 14-7 margin, with four consecutive points coming off of kills by Amador and graduate student
Katie Hudencial (Mechanicsville, Va.), accompanied by two New Haven attack errors. The Chargers would scratch and claw their way into the third set, getting as close as a 23-18 deficit. However, a kill by Hansen and an attack error by Peterson gave the Pioneers life and stretched the match to a fourth set.
Austin, Amador and freshman outside hitter
Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) would contribute kills to combine with three New Haven errors to start the fourth set. Yet, a 6-2 lead for the Pioneers was erased by a chippy Chargers squad as the home side grabbed a 12-11 cushion. Both teams then traded leads until LIU Post grabbed a 22-21 edge on a kill by Amador and a block by Ball and Adams. But with the fifth set drawing near, New Haven slammed the door on the Pioneers, scoring the final four points on a ball handing error and kills by Atufunwa and senior setter Kaulana Ane (Paia, Hawaii). Ane would score the match-winning kill to give New Haven the 25-22 victory and the three-sets-to-one win on the night.
Valenza led the green and gold with 13 kills on a .323 hitting percentage. Amador added nine kills, while Adams scored six kills of her own. Austin contributed seven kills and was one of five Pioneers to collect 10 or more digs. Junior libero
Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) paced the team in that category with 16 digs and senior setter
Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) pushed forth 30 assists.
The Chargers were led by Atufunwa's 13 kills. Ane turned in an 11-kill, 35-assist performance to key the team's 11th-consecutive victory. Junior libero Kea-Marie Olaso (Kailua, Hawaii) accrued a match-high 21 digs, while sophomore Annika Hacker (Bayreuth, Germany) collected 14 digs of her own.
Head Coach
Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers continue their road trip on Saturday (Oct. 11), as they make their longest journey of the ECC slate in facing Roberts Wesleyan. First serve from Rochester, N.Y. is at 7 p.m.