BROOKVILLE, N.Y. – The LIU Post women's volleyball team fell 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-19, 25-23) in a hard fought match to Flagler College Friday night inside the Pratt Recreation Center.

The Pioneers move to 6-3 on the season and have a pair of home matches tomorrow against East Stroudsburg University and Stonehill College.

Despite losing the match the Pioneers came out on top in several statistical categories as they recorded 54 kills to 50 by the Saints, 51 assists to 46 by Flagler, six service aces to the Saints' three and tied the Saints in total blocks as both teams had nine.

Match Rewind
Buoyed by a 6-0 run, Flagler raced out to an early 7-1 lead in the opening set. The Pioneers battled back to tie the score 10-10 thanks a service ace from junior Samantha Colombo and from there the set was a back-and-forth battle. Down 24-20, the Pioneers did their best to extend the set thanks to a pair of service aces by junior Kassie Akouri-Tejedor and a service error by the Saints however Flagler held on and took the set 25-20. While the set belonged to the Saints, the Pioneers recorded four service aces to zero by the Saints and also tied Flagler in kills with nine.

While Flagler led 5-4 in the early stages of the second set it would be Flagler's only lead; a kill by senior Elise Strange and a Flagler attacking error saw the Pioneers take the lead 6-5 and not look back. Flagler kept the set close and with the LIU Post up 18-16 Akouri-Tejedor handed out assists to sophomore Lauren Kloos and senior Rachel Londot that gave the Pioneers a 20-16 lead. With the Pioneers ahead 20-18 they put the set out of reach thanks to a 3-0 run keyed by a Saints service error and finished off with kills by Londot and freshman Kiora Ridgeway. LIU Post closed the set out to win 25-20 thanks to another Londot kill and a double block by Ridgeway and Strange. During the set LIU Post recorded 19 kills to 17 by Flagler and also had no ball handling errors.

In a third set that saw the Pioneers and Saints each finish with 14 kills and two service aces, it was Flagler who raced out to an early 5-1 lead. The Pioneers narrowed the margin thanks to a 4-0 run featuring a Flagler service error, a kill by Ridgeway and a pair of kills by Londot that saw the score move to 8-7; LIU Post's first lead then came courtesy of an Akouri-Tejedor service ace that gave them a 12-11 lead. Shortly after, Flagler responded with a 4-0 run that put them ahead 15-13 and never looked back from there as they went on to win the set 25-19.

The fourth set was another close contest; with the score tied 6-6 Flagler used a 3-0 to widen the margin to 9-6 and never trailed from there.  Down 17-13 a kill by senior Giulia Genna propelled the Pioneers on a 4-0 run that also featured a Colombo kill, a Flagler attacking error and a double block by junior Lea Brady and Ridgeway that tied the score 17-17. The Pioneers and Saints continued to trade points as the set then featured five more ties; despite the Pioneers' persistence Flagler went on to claim victory in the set 25-23.

Top Performers
-          Londot had a double-double with a match-high 19 kills on a .319 attacking percentage along with 13 digs
-          Kloos recorded 13 kills and three block assists
-          Akouri-Tejedor finished with a team-high 25 assists, nine digs and a match-high three service aces
-          Junior Abby Eckhardt led the match in digs with 24
-          Ridgeway added a team-high five block assists and seven kills
-          Genna handed out 18 assists to go with eight digs

Up Next
The LIU Post women's volleyball team moves on to host East Stroudsburg University (8-1) at 12:00 p.m. and Stonehill College (4-2) at 4:00 p.m. on Sept. 8 inside the Pratt Recreation Center.