BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University volleyball team rallied to defeat Fordham, 3-2 (25-22, 20-25, 15-25, 25-21, 16-14) on Friday evening at the Steinberg Wellness Center. The Sharks battled back with wins in the final two sets to earn the first win of the season.

LIU picked up a pair of double-double performances in the win over the Rams. Freshman Karolina Nova tallied a match-high 21 kills to go with 10 digs. Senior Kora Schaberl added 14 kills and 11 digs for the Sharks. Senior Amanda Hubbard recorded 32 assists and finished just shy of a double-double with eight digs.

The Sharks rose to the occasion defensively with 87 digs as a team on the night with five players finishing in double figures. Sophomore Anastasia Scott led LIU with 26 digs in the match. Sophomore Masa Zirojevic contributed 17 digs and freshman Barbora Hoskova added 10 digs for the Sharks.

LIU started off the match with a 7-2 start in the opening set with four kills across the board along with a service ace from Nova and block by freshman Miranda Strongman. Fordham found its footing offensively after that, working the set to a 9-9 tie. The Sharks responded with a 6-2 stretch as a kill from Strongman pushed the lead to 14-10. The Rams would cut the deficit down to two shortly after but a 5-1 run by LIU pushed the lead to four at 20-14. The opening set was a battle from there as Fordham got to within one point with a 23-22 lead for the Sharks. LIU closed the set on back-to-back points to earn the 25-23 set win.

The second set opened with both teams trading points to a 11-11 standstill. LIU used a 3-1 stretch on a pair of Fordham errors and a kill from Hoskova to jump ahead 14-12, prompting a Rams timeout. The visiting team responded after the break with an extended 10-2 stretch to take the the set lead 22-16. LIU looked to rally late in the set as back-to-back kills from brought the score to 24-20 but the Rams picked up a kill to close the set 25-20.

Momentum carried over into the third set for Fordham with a 17-5 lead in the set. LIU looked to find some footing offensively in the set with a 7-1 stretch to chip at the deficit but the Rams continued to hit from the outside for the 25-15 set win.

The fourth frame started slightly in the Rams favor with a 5-4 lead early. The Sharks used a four-point run to take the lead in the set 8-5. Both teams went point for point from there as the set was knotted up at 10-10. After a quick point by Fordham, LIU embarked on a 7-1 stretch thanks to a few errors by the Rams along with kills from Schaberl and Zirojevic to jump ahead 17-12. A pair of points by the opposition broke up the run but the Sharks continued to gel offensively with a 7-3 stretch to get to set point at 24-17. Fordham cut the lead down to three but one final kill from Schaberl sealed the fourth set for LIU at 25-21.

Set five saw Fordham hold on to a slight 8-7 advantage before both teams switched sides. The lead would build up to three for the Rams at 12-9. The Sharks used a four-point swing on a block assist from Schaberl and junior Kristina Mamic along with kills by Nova and Schaberl to take the lead in the set 13-12. Fordham used two points to get to within set point at 14-13 but LIU closed out the final frame with three points, sealing the 16-14 set win and the match on a block assist from Schaberl and Strongman.

UP NEXT

LIU caps the homestand at the Steinberg Center on Saturday afternoon with a 4:00 p.m. match against Columbia.