AMHERST, N.Y. – Despite coming back from two sets down and taking the match to five, the third-seeded LIU Post women's volleyball team's comeback against second-seeded Molloy College fell short 3-2 (25-18, 25-22, 18-25, 21-25, 15-10) Friday night in an East Coast Conference Championship semifinal match inside Lumsden Gymnasium.
 
The Pioneers topped the Lions in several statistical categories; kills 57-51, assists 55-48, service aces 10-6 and digs 60-67.
 
LIU Post's record now stands at 19-13 overall and 9-5 in ECC play.
 
Match Rewind
While the Pioneers raced out to a 3-0 to open the match the Lions eventually took the lead 10-9 and did not look back as they took the opening set 25-18.
 
An early 5-0 run by Molloy gave the Lions an early 5-1 lead, however the second played out much closer. Down 22-17 a solo block by junior Lea Brady sparked a 4-0 LIU Post run that that also featured a kill by Brady, a service ace by senior Giulia Genna and a Lion attacking error that brought the Pioneers within two points. Molloy managed to hold one and win the set 25-22.
 
The Lions took a 13-12 lead to open the third set but the Pioneers were determined to will their way back into the math. A kill by freshman Aleaha Mokamba led the Pioneers on a 4-0 run that featured a pair of kills by junior Kassie Akouri-Tejedor and a Molloy attacking error that gave LIU Post a 15-13 lead. From there Pioneers never trailed and went on to win the set 25-18.
 
Down 6-5 early in the fourth set, a 4-0 Pioneer run that featured three-straight Mokamba kills and a Molloy attacking error gave LIU Post an 8-6 lead. Up 16-14 the Pioneers further consolidated their lead thanks to a kill by sophomore Lauren Kloos and back-to-back service aces by Genna to give them a 19-14 lead.  LIU Post closed the set out with a kill by senior Rachel Londot from an assist by Akouri-Tejedor to give them a 25-21 victory and set up a deciding fifth set.
 
Kills by Londot and Akouri-Tejedor gave LIU Post a 2-1 lead early in the fifth set however Molloy eventually took an 8-7 lead thanks to a 3-0 run.  While a kill by Kloos brought the score to 12-10 the Pioneers fell just short as Molloy won the final set 15-10.
 
Top Performers
- Londot led the team in kills with 17 and added nine digs
- Akouri-Tejedor finished with a team-high 40 assists
- Genna led the match and had a season-high five service aces
- Eckhardt had a match-high 24 digs
 
Up Next
LIU Post will wait to hear if it is selected to compete at the NCAA Division II East Regional Championship. The selection show takes place on Sunday, Nov. 11 at 10:00 p.m.