BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 24, 2014) - Behind a match-high 12 kills from freshman outside hitter Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.), the LIU Post volleyball team swept non-conference foe Bentley, 3-0, in front of a raucous crowd at the Pratt Recreation Center on Friday.

The Pioneers won in three sets by scores of 25-22. 25-22 and 25-18. LIU Post is now 15-11 on the season, while the loss drops Bentley to 13-8.

The first game set the tone for what was a hard-fought contest throughout the evening. The Falcons jumped out to a quick 5-1 lead on the strength of three kills by senior middle blocker Savannah Dominguez (Miami, Fla.). After a Valenza kill cut the deficit to three points, the green and gold won the next five rallies on two Bentley errors, a service ace by graduate student Katie Hudencial (Mechanicsville, Va.) and kills by senior setter Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) and sophomore right-side hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii).

LIU Post eventually increased their advantage in the opening stanza to 15-11, before a Dominguez kill gave Bentley the serve back at 15-12. From there, freshman outside hitter Shannon Kelly (Hyde Park, N.Y.) served two aces and got help from a kill by Dominguez and two LIU Post attacking mistakes, which gave Bentley a 17-15 cushion. The green and gold subsequently rallied to re-gain the lead, but their opponents did not let up as the set became knotted at 22-all after a kill from Tatiana Froehlich (Newton, Mass.). A Valenza kill would precede an Austin kill, and ultimately a bad set gave the Pioneers the 25-22 victory and a one-set-to-none lead.

The second game saw LIU Post race out to a 2-0 edge on a Bentley attack error and a service ace from freshman middle blocker Heather Ball (Gilbert, Ariz.). Back came the Falcons though, as two attacking mishaps by the Pioneers drew the visiting side even at 5-all. The score would be tied again at 10-10, before LIU Post picked up a 12-10 lead on two errors by their opponents. Bentley then scored five unanswered---all on Pioneer mistakes---to take a 15-12 lead, and the Falcons would push their advantage to 21-17 on a kill by senior Kaleigh Sullivan (Naples, Fla.).

LIU Post was not to be denied in the second stanza as a rare kill from junior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) cut Bentley's lead to 21-20. Senior Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) followed with a kill to tie the score, and Austin rocketed a service ace to give the Pioneers the one-point lead. After a Lauren Van Buren (Massapequa Park, N.Y.) kill leveled the set at 22, Valenza put the Pioneers in front to stay with a kill of her own. Junior middle hitter Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) followed suit with a successful attack and she teamed with Adams on a big block to cement the game for the Pioneers.

The Falcons, however, quieted a Post-partisan crowd with a 3-0 run to start the third set. Yet, the Pioneers would rally back to tie the game at 4---the first of 11 instances in which the score was level between the two teams in the final stanza. The visitors would pull ahead narrowly at 15-14, behind a kill from senior Simone Silvera (Bolingbrook, Ill.), but Austin converted an attack to level the match at 15. The teams traded points to level the set at 16 as an LIU Post kill by Ball was answered with a Bentley kill by junior Jaci Buscher (Lakewood, Colo.).

The Pioneers would win the next three points on a kill from their freshman middle blocker, sandwiched between a kill and service ace from junior setter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas). The green and gold capitalized on three attack errors to pull away and take a 22-17 lead. With the crowd on their feet, two kills by Valenza sent the Pioneers to a three-set sweep and a 25-18 win in the last game of the evening.

Valenza's match-high 12 kills were the standard on the LIU Post attacking front, and Austin added nine kills of her own. Amador slammed down six kills, to go along with nine digs and 14 assists. Adams sported five kills on a .444 hitting clip. Centro dished out a team-high 19 assists and chipped in six digs. Ringor kept the Pioneers in every point with a 20-dig performance that was unsurpassed by any other player on the floor.

Bentley was led by Dominguez's team-high 10 kills and senior setter Alex Tator's (Los Angeles, Calif.) 20 assists. Three players collected 10 or more digs for the visitors, led by Kelly's 13. Junior defensive specialist Jessica Segal (West Harrison, N.Y.) totaled 11 digs, while senior libero Lauren Colasanti (Northville, Mich.) accrued 10.

Head Coach Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers return to conference action on Tuesday (Oct. 28), as they continue their season-ending homestand against Bridgeport. The Purple Knights currently sit atop the ECC standings with an unblemished 13-0 mark, while LIU Post ranks third with a 9-4 league record. First serve from the Pratt Recreation Center is at 7 p.m.