BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University volleyball team opened its four-match homestand at the Steinberg Wellness Center with a 3-1 win over rival, St. Francis Brooklyn on Wednesday evening. The Sharks brushed off a first-set setback to win by scores of 15-25, 25-16, 25-20, 25-13.
LIU's offense featured three players with double-digit kills on the night. Senior
Kora Schaberl led the way with 14 kills and rookies
Karolina Nova and
Fleur Wiersma tallied 11 and 10 kills respectively. Wiersma tallied a team-high .588 hitting percentage on 17 chances. Senior
Amanda Hubbard finished with a double-double with 35 assists and 13 digs. Sophomore
Anastasia Scott finished with a team-high 16 digs and added seven assists for the Sharks.
The visiting Terriers started the first set strong with an early 4-1 advantage. LIU slowly chipped away, eventually cutting the deficit down to one at 8-7 on a kill by freshman
Miranda Strongman. St. Francis started to click offensively shortly after with an extended 12-3 stretch to jump out in front 20-10. The lead continued to hold as the Terriers took a 25-13 first set decision over the Sharks.
Back-and-forth play kicked off the second set as both teams traded points early. LIU made the first run of the set with four-straight points led by three kills from Scaberl to go up 9-5 and force a Terriers timeout. St. Francis responded with a four-point swing of their own to knot things up at 9-9. The Sharks went on a 5-2 run from there to jump back in front 14-11. The Terriers cut the deficit to one shortly after to bring the score to 15-14. LIU gained control of the set as a late 9-2 stretch paced by three kills from Wiersma to get to set point at 24-15. The Sharks sealed the 25-16 set win on a St. Francis error.
The third set opened with a slight 8-5 lead by the Terriers. LIU then rattled off four-straight points on a few errors by the Terriers to take the 9-8 lead. The lead shifted back to the Terriers on a 3-1 stretch later for the 13-12 lead. LIU embarked on another four-point swing to take back the lead as a kill from junior
Masa Zirojevic pushed the score 16-13. St. Francis continued to fight back eventually tying the set up at 17-17. After a timeout, LIU responded with a 6-2 stretch to go up 23-19. After a Terriers point, Nova and Weirsma sealed the set with back to back kills for the 25-20 decision.
Momentum carried over into the fourth set for LIU with a 11-3 start on six kills across the board and three big blocks up front. After a three-point swing by the Terriers stalled momentum, the Sharks used a 6-2 stretch to jump out in front 17-8. That lead would continue to hold as the set wore on as LIU recorded a .407 hitting percentage in the set to come away with a 25-13 set win and take the match.
UP NEXT
The Sharks continue the busy weekend at the Steinberg Center on Friday, October 25 with a 6:00 p.m. match against Merrimack College.
