BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Sept. 30, 2014) - On Tuesday, the LIU Post volleyball team opened up a six-match road swing with a 3-0 loss to Bridgeport in an East Coast Conference duel at Harvey Hubbell Gymnasium in Bridgeport, Conn.

In a contest between the East Coast Conference's top preseason favorites, the Pioneers (8-8, 3-3 ECC) and Purple Knights (11-1, 6-0 ECC) exchanged 19 tied scores and six lead changes.

The two squads battled point-for-point for most of the opening set. Tied at 11-all, the green and gold scored three unanswered points to grab a 14-11 lead, forcing a Bridgeport timeout. Junior middle hitter Melissa Hansen (Colorado Springs, Colo.) and junior setter/outside hitter Monica Amador (Cedar Park, Texas) had a kill apiece in that short spurt. Junior libero Rachel Ringor (Honolulu, Hawaii) served an ace.

The Pioneers eventually opened up as much as a four-point cushion (17-13), before three unforced errors and an Amanda Kunrath (Ivoti, Brazil) pulled the Purple Knights even. Shortly thereafter, LIU Post led again, at 21-19, but UB evened the score (22-22) on a Michele Santos (Campinas, Brazil) ace, and went on to take the game by a 25-23 count after a Heather Adams (Centerville, Ohio) attack error.

In the second set, the hosts jumped out to an early 8-1 advantage on the strength of two Sarah Rosa (Itajuba, Brazil) service aces and a pair of Larissa Oliveira (Belo Horizonte, Brazil) kills. Bridgeport, which hit at a .381 clip in the stanza, never looked back from there. The Purple Knights thrice owned as much as a 15-point edge, en route to the 25-10 victory.

Knotted at 3-up early in the third set, the Pioneers tallied five straight points to go ahead 8-3. Freshman middle blocker Danielle Valenza (Hauppauge, N.Y.) provided two kills and two blocks in that stretch. Yet, out of a break in the action, Bridgeport responded. A string of three consecutive kills by Oliveira, coupled with back-to-back aces from Rosa, made it 8-8. Later in the game, the two teams remained tied (12-12), until a Biljana Savic (Novi Sad, Serbia) kill sparked a five-point run that put the match away.

LIU Post did manage to close the gap to as few as two points on a pair of occasions, but UB came on strong for the 25-21 win in the set. 

Valenza finished the evening with eight kills, five digs and three blocks. Sophomore middle/right-side hitter Analise Austin (Honolulu, Hawaii) totaled seven digs, six kills and two blocks. Amador chipped in seven digs, five assists, four kills and three blocks. Ringor amassed a match-high 19 digs, while junior setter Lulu Centro (Rome, Italy) dished out 19 assists to lead all players.

Head Coach Shellane Ogoshi and the Pioneers are next in action Saturday (Oct. 4) for a 3 p.m. non-conference tilt in Rindge, N.H. at Franklin Pierce. LIU Post and FPU last met on Dec. 5, 2013 in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II East Region Championship, a 3-0 triumph for the green and gold.