BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The LIU Post women's volleyball team successfully took back bragging rights in the Battle of the Boulevard rivalry with the New York Institute of Technology Wednesday, sweeping the Bears 3-0 inside the Pratt Recreation Center in the team's East Coast Conference Opener.
 
The Pioneers dominated the match with strong defensive play and a balanced offensive attack led by an 11-kill effort from freshman Kiora Ridgeway and a 16-dig night by junior Abby Eckhardt. Senior Elise Strange added three blocks in two sets played.
 
LIU Post never led by more than three points during the opening set and saw its lead shrink to just a single point at 23-22 late in the stanza. Ridgeway rallied with two-consecutive kills to help the Green and Gold take the opening frame, 25-22 and the Pioneers never looked back.
 
Despite the momentum from the opening set, NYIT took a 10-6 lead early in set two following three-consecutive attacking errors by the Pioneers. LIU Post notched just eight kills during the frame and hit -.026 as a team, but strong defensive play limited the Bears to just five kills during the stretch. The back-and-forth action continued until the score reached 20-20 before junior Samantha Colombo put down a kill and classmate Kassie Akouri-Tejedor added a service ace to give the Pioneers a 22-20 advantage. Colombo later closed out the set with consecutive service aces to give LIU Post the 2-0 lead.
 
The match was in full control during the third set when the Pioneers put down 14 kills and hit a blistering .316 as a team Trailing 9-7 early, the Pioneers exploded for a 14-2 burst to take a commanding 21-11 lead. Strange, Colombo, and Ridgeway put down one kill apiece to close out the match, giving LIU Post its fourth victory against NYIT over the last five matchups.
 
The Pioneers have a quick turnaround when they take on another local rival in Adelphi University tomorrow evening inside the Center for Sport and Recreation at 7:00 p.m. The contest marks the first road game after eight-consecutive matchups on the home court for LIU Post.