Volleyball Comes Up Short in 3-2 Loss to Daemen

10/10/2015 10:42:00 PM

Box Score

BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 10, 2015) - The LIU Post volleyball team had its four-match winning streak snapped Saturday afternoon in a 3-2 loss (25-15, 23-25, 21-25, 25-22, 15-22) to Daemen College in an East Coast Conference showdown at the Pratt Recreation Center.

Leading 7-6 in the first set, the Pioneers (14-5, 2-2 ECC) rattled off six unanswered points to widen their advantage to 13-6. Junior middle hitter Taryn McCullouch (Buena Park, Calif.) and sophomore outside/middle/right-side hitter Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) put down two kills apiece in the spurt. Senior setter/right-side hitter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) served back-to-back aces.

LIU Post eventually built as much as an eight-point cushion (20-12) in the opening game, on an Amber Drzymala (West Seneca, N.Y.) ball-handling error, and cruised to a 25-15 win.

The green and gold then dropped the next two sets, before winning the fourth to tie the match. Holding an early 7-5 edge in the game, the Pioneers went on a 10-4 run, extending their lead to 17-9. Freshman outside hitter Rachel Londot (Utica, Ohio) and freshman setter Giulia Genna (Civitella San Paolo, Italy) each provided a kill and an ace in that stretch.

That proved to be all LIU Post needed in that set, as a kill by senior middle hitter Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) secured a 25-22 victory for the hosts.

In the deciding fifth set, the Pioneers and Wildcats (9-9, 4-1 ECC) went back and forth, until Daemen pulled away late. Though LIU Post owned a three-point cushion (10-7), the visitors scored eight of the final 10 points to squeak out the 15-12 win.

Londot finished with 11 kills and 13 digs for a double-double. Valenza collected 10 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Hansen and Amador both tallied nine kills. They also combined for eight blocks on the afternoon. McCullouch pitched in seven kills and three blocks. Genna allocated 44 assists, in addition to registering seven digs, five kills and two blocks. Freshman libero Natalie Miller (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and junior outside/right-side/middle hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) totaled 18 and 11 digs, respectively.

Head Coach Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers are back at it Sunday (Oct. 11), when they host Roberts Wesleyan College at noon at the Pratt Recreation Center.