JACKSONVILLE, Fla.— The Long Island University volleyball team fell in a pair of matches to start play at the River City Rumble on Friday. The Sharks fell to FIU, 3-0 to open the day before falling to host, UNF, 3-1 in the night session at UNF Arena.

Match 1: FIU 3, LIU 0
The Sharks' fell to FIU in straight sets to begin the day by scores of 25-22, 25-21, 25-17.

The opening set saw the Panthers jump out to an early 14-9 advantage. LIU used a kill from freshman Miranda Strongman and an attack error cut the score to 14-11. FIU pushed the lead back to five shortly after but back-to-back kills from senior Kora Schaberl brought the score to 17-14. The Panthers went on a 6-1 run to jump ahead 23-13 before the the Sharks used a three point swing on kills from Schaberl and freshman Karolina Nova to bring the score to 23-21. FIU closed the opening set on a kill to earn a 25-22 first set win.

LIU started the second set strong opening on a 5-3 favor led by kills from Strongman and Schaberl paired with a few FIU errors. The Panthers didn't back down using a 6-1 stretch to jump ahead 9-6. LIU worked back in the set leading to a 12-12 standstill. Two straight attack errors saw LIU take a 14-12 lead in the set and prompted a FIU timeout. The Panthers responded a four-point run to jump ahead 16-14. LIU was there to answer with a three-point run of its own to take back the lead at 17-16. FIU made another charge with a 6-2 run to jump ahead 22-19. LIU cut the deficit down to one on a kill from junior Jovana Stekovic along with a block assist by Stekovic and freshman Maria Harding to bring the score to 22-21. The Panthers closed the set with a three point run for the 25-21 set win.

Set three would open in FIU's favor as the opposition held on to a one point lead over LIU at 12-11. The Sharks were led by three kills apiece from Nova and Schaberl in the early going. The Panthers made a push to secure the set with a 5-1 run to build a 17-12 advantage. LIU broke up the stretch on kills from Strongman and Stekovic, bringing the score to 17-14. FIU closed the set on a 8-3 run to take the set 25-17, and earn the match win.

Schaberl led LIU with 12 kills in the first match and Nova also posted double-digit kills, finishing with 10 kills to go along with five digs. Freshman Darragh Dixon dished out 16 assists and senior Amanda Hubbard added 13 assists. Harding finished three blocks for the Sharks and senior Natalia Rivera tallied 16 digs.

Match 2: UNF 3, LIU 1

LIU fell to host, UNF by scored of 14-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-21. 

The Sharks started out strong in the night session, building up an early 10-6 lead on kills from Nova, Schaberl and Strongman to go with a pair of blocks up front. North Florida chipped away at the lead eventually cutting it to a two-point match at 11-9. LIU clicked offensively from there on out with a 14-5 closing stretch to earn the first set win 25-14. The Sharks tallied 14 kills in the opening frame with a .520 hitting percentage.

Back-and-forth action kicked off the second frame as the set was knotted up at 8-8. UNF broke through with a 5-1 stretch to jump in front 13-9. LIU continued to fight back using a 3-1 run to cut the deficit to two at 14-12. The Ospreys created separation with a six-point run there after and held on for a 25-17 second set win.

Momentum carried into the third set for UNF, working at 10-4 advantage on their home court. The Sharks found some footing offensively with a 5-2 run, using a kills from Dixon, Nova and Stekovic to cut the score down to two at 12-10.  LIU continued to keep pace as the set wore on taking advantage of a few UNF errors to make it a one point match at 17-16. But it was an 8-2 closing run for the Ospreys to take the set 25-18 and gain control of the match.

LIU looked to bounce back in the fourth set, jumping out to an early 4-1 advantage on a pair of kills from Strongman. UNF was quick to respond with an extended 11-3 run to jump ahead 12-7. The Ospreys continued the the pace eventually building to a 20-11 favor in the set. The Sharks used a 5-1 stretch led by a block and pair of kills from Schaberl to get to within striking distance at 21-16. LIU eventually used a four-point swing to cut the set to within two points at 23-21 but UNF closed the match with two straight points for the 25-21 set win.

Schaberl posted a match-high 15 kills for the Sharks to go along with eight digs in the nightcap. Nova and Strongman both added nine kills apiece for LIU. Hubbard dished out a season-high 31 assists. On the defensive end, Harding led LIU with four blocks and Rivera tallied 16 digs for the second straight match.

UP NEXT

The Sharks conclude the River City Rumble and opening nine match stretch on the road tomorrow morning with a 11:00 a.m. contest against Charleston Southern.