BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The LIU Post women's volleyball team outlasted a pair of non-conference opponents Sunday in a pair of epic five-set battles as it first defeated Bentley University 3-2 (25-21, 16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 15-10) then American International College, a team that advanced to the 2017 NCAA East Region Championship match, 3-2 (25-16, 25-22, 23-25, 23-25, 15-8) inside the Pratt Recreation Center.
LIU Post was buoyed by a strong defensive effort in both matches; against Bentley it's 98 digs were a season-high in both a five-set match and any match. Against AIC it's 13 total blocks was a season-high in a five-set match, any match and the most total blocks it has had in a match since it had 17 against Molloy College on Oct.18, 2017. It's 13 service aces against AIC also tied it's season-high.
The Pioneers record now stands at 15-9 overall and it remains at 5-3 in the East Coast Conference. LIU Post's all-time record against Bentley now stands at 9-14 and 9-5 against American International.
Bentley Match Rewind
- LIU Post used a 5-0 run keyed by a junior
Samantha Colombo kill early in the opening set to create distance between them and the Falcons that led to it taking the set 25-21
- Bentley would bounce back in the second set to win 25-16
- The Pioneers used a pair of 5-0 runs in the third set that gave them a victory with a score of 25-19
- Bentley sent the match into a deciding fifth set after winning a tightly-contested fourth set 25-23
- The Pioneers closed out the fifth set on a 4-0 run and with a pair of service aces by Colombo to win 15-10
Top Performers
- Senior
Rachel Londot's 19 kills and 28 digs were both match highs. She
- Colombo recorded a match and career-best seven service aces. She also had a double-double of 13 kills and 14 digs
- Junior
Kassie Akouri-Tejedor handed out a team-high 32 assists and added a season-high 17 digs
- Junior
Abby Eckhardt had 23 digs and five assists
AIC Match Rewind
-Up 5-4 in the opening set the Pioneers used a 7-0 run that featured two kills by freshman
Kiora Ridgeway and one kill each by Londot and Colombo to propel them to 25-16 margin of victory
- With the score tied 19-19 in the second set a 6-0 LIU Post run featuring kills by sophomore
Asiya Way, Akouri-Tejedor and Londot helped the Pioneers earn a 25-22 win
- The third and fourth sets were back-and-forth battles that saw the Yellow Jackets prevail 25-23 in each
- After jumping out to a 9-6 lead in the fifth set LIU Post used a 5-0 run that featured a Way kill to triumph 15-8
Top Performers
- Ridgeway finished with a career-high 16 kills, which also tied the match-high. Her seven digs were also a career-high
- Ahearne added a match and career-high four service aces
- Way had a career-high seven total blocks
- Akouri-Tejedor added a team-high 37 assists
- Londot had her second double-double of the day with 13 kills and 12 digs to go with three service aces
- Colombo also had her second double-double with 10 kills and 13 assists
Up Next
LIU Post hosts Daemen College (14-9, 8-0) on Saturday, Oct.20 at 12:00 p.m. and Saint Anselm College (12-8, 4-4) at 4:00 p.m. inside the Pratt Recreation Center.