BROOKVILLE, N.Y. (Oct. 28, 2014) - Despite having two chances to win the fifth and deciding set, the LIU Post volleyball team lost a tough 3-2 decision to East Coast Conference rival Bridgeport on Tuesday at the Pratt Recreation Center.

Though both squads hit poorly in the first two games, the Pioneers (15-12, 9-5 ECC) and Purple Knights (19-2, 14-0) split to even the match at 1-1.

Tied 5-5 in the first set, LIU Post, on the strength of two Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) service aces, tallied four unanswered points to take a 9-5 lead. Junior setter/outside hitter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) added a kill and an assist. The Pioneers later held a 13-9 edge, until UB rattled off an 11-3 run to go in front, 20-16. The Purple Knights capitalized on seven attack errors by the opposition in that span.

However, the green and gold came back in a fury, using a 9-3 burst of their own to secure the opening game, 25-23. Following a Bridgeport timeout, sophomore middle/right-side hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) slammed down the clinching kill.

In the second set, LIU Post again held a 13-9 advantage, but UB chipped away and eventually knotted things up at 16-all on an ace by graduate outside hitter/setter Giovana Soares (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Later in the game, with the score still tied (22-22), a pair of Austin attack errors, sandwiched by a Larissa Oliveira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) kill, sent the Purple Knights to a 25-22 victory.

Behind a .300 attack percentage, the Pioneers dominated the third set, 25-18. Trailing 6-3 early on in the game, LIU Post rolled off a 12-1 streak to grab a 15-7 lead, a cushion it would not relinquish. Over that stretch, junior middle hitter Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) provided four kills. She and Amador rejected a block on UB's Ying Shen (Nanjing, China) as well.

The fourth set featured Bridgeport's strongest showing of the evening, as the Purple Knights hit at an impressive .419 clip, en route to a 25-17 triumph. Deadlocked at 15-all, the visitors pulled away with a five-point spurt, led by three kills from Shen.

The final game was a see-saw affair. The two teams exchanged seven tied scores and four lead changes. Bookended by Martina Santia (Seeze, Italy) service aces, UB jumped out to a quick 6-1 lead, forcing an LIU Post timeout.

The break in the action turned out to be just what the Pioneers needed. The hosts won the next five points, capped by an Adams kill, to tie the set at 6-up. Shortly thereafter, LIU Post and Bridgeport were still all even (12-12). Then, a pair of blocks on Shen put the green and gold one point away. Yet, a blocking error on Adams and an attack error by Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) gave the opposition a second life.

A subsequent attack error by Adams, along with a kill by junior outside hitter Sarah Rosa (Itajuba, Brazil), won it for the Purple Knights.

For the match, Valenza registered a team-high 12 kills. She also amassed five digs and two blocks. Hansen totaled nine kills and four blocks. Adams (12 digs, four blocks) and Austin (13 digs, two blocks) had seven kills apiece. Amador dished out 31 assists, while compiling eight kills, seven digs and four blocks. Freshman middle blocker Heather Ball (Gilbert, Ariz.) pitched in eight blocks, five kills and four digs. Junior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) racked up 11 digs.

Head Coach Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers continue their season-ending five-match homestand Thursday (Oct. 30), when they welcome Southern Connecticut State to the Pratt Recreation Center. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m.