BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University volleyball team fell to local rival, St. Francis Brooklyn, 3-1 (25-27, 25-22, 22-25, 25-27) on Wednesday evening at the Genovesi Center. With the loss, LIU falls to 7-16 on the season and 6-5 in NEC play and St. Francis improves to 11-15 overall and 4-7 in NEC play.

Freshman Karolina Nova led the LIU offense with a match-high 22 kills and added 11 digs for her eighth double-double of the season. Junior Masa Zirojevic also finished with 20-plus kills on the night with a career-high 21 kills on a .286 hitting percentage. Senior Amanda Hubbard recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 41 assists and 16 digs. Freshman Barbora Hoskova added a career-high 15 digs and tallied eight digs for the Sharks. Sophomore Anastasia Scott registered a team-high 21 digs and finished with eight assists.

The opening set was a battle between both from the start, going back-and-forth fo the first couple rotations. St. Francis used a 5-1 stretch to create a little separation with an 11-8 lead. The lead would hold as the set moved to the middle stages but the Sharks strung together a 6-1 run of their own on a pair of kills from Zirojevic to take an 18-16 lead. St. Francis used a timeout to recoup and responded with a 3-1 run to knot the set up at 20-20. After both teams traded brief shots at the lead, LIU put together back-to-back points as a kill from freshman Barbora Hoskova pushed the lead to 23-21 for the Sharks. St. Francis hung right there with LIU, tying the set up at 24-24. The home team closed the second set with back-to-back points for the 27-25 opening set win.

LIU started the second set with the first three points on kills from both Hubbard and Nova. The Terriers tied things up with a three-point run of their own. After a kill from Hoskova gave the Sharks back the lead, St. Francis used a 6-1 run to command a 9-5 advantage. The lead continued to hold for the home team before the Sharks used a 6-1 stretch led by a pair of kills from Nova to take the 16-14 lead. LIU eventually grew its lead to five points as a service ace from Hoskova brought the score to 21-16. St. Francis would work the set down to two points as LIU reached match point, 24-22. A kill from Hubbard sealed the 25-22 second set win.

St. Francis Brooklyn held the slight 6-3 to open the third set. LIU tied things up at 6-6 with a three-point run on a kill by Zirojevic and service ace from Scott. The set was tightly contested from there, building to a 14-14 standstill. The Terriers used three straight points to take a 17-14 lead in the set. As the set wore on, LIU cut the deficit to one point at 18-17 on a kill by Zirojevic and a service ace from Hoskova. The Terriers were there to answer with three straight points to take control of the set 20-17. LIU used a timeout to talk things over and responded with a five-point stretch led by a pair of kills from Nova for the 22-21 set lead. But it was a four-point closing stretch by St. Francis Brooklyn for the 25-22 third set win.

LIU opened the fourth set with a 12-2 stretch to start led by three kills apiece from Nova and Hoskova. The Sharks continued to hold the lead as the set wore on building up to a 19-11 advantage. St. Francis Brooklyn used a six point run shortly after to cut the deficit to two at 19-17. The Sharks used a 3-1 run to push the lead to four at 22-18 but the Terriers added four straight points right after to tie the set up at 22-22. LIU used back-to-back kills by Zirojevic and Nova to get to set point, 24-22. St. Francis Brooklyn used a pair of points to knot the set up at 24-24. After both teams traded points, the Terriers closed the set on a two-point run to earn the 27-25 set win and take the match.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to the Steinberg Wellness Center on Saturday, November 2 to take on Fairleigh Dickinson for the annual Dig Pink match. First serve is slated for 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.