NEW BRITAIN, Conn.— The Long Island University volleyball team held off Central Connecticut, 3-2, in a thrilling five-set match on Friday night at Detrick Gymnasium. The Sharks took the first two sets and then the decisive fifth set to open Northeast Conference play with a victory.

LIU has opened its league slate with a victory for the eighth consecutive season with the win on Friday night. Playing in the third straight five-set match, the Sharks took the match with scores of 25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25, 15-13.

The Sharks posted three double-double efforts from seniors Amanda Hubbard and Kora Schaberl along with freshman Karolina Nova. Hubbard dished out a season-high 56 assists to go with 10 digs. Schaberl tallied 20-plus kills for the second straight match, finishing with 22 kills along with 15 digs. Nova, the reigning NEC Player & Rookie of the Week tallied 23 kills and added 12 digs.

Freshman Fleur Wiersma made an immediate impact in her first appearance for the Sharks this season on Friday night. Wiersma registered 12 kills on a .381 hitting percentage and posted a team-high four total blocks. Sophomore Anastasia Scott finished with a match-high 26 digs and junior Masa Zirojevic contributed 14 digs.

LIU began the match with a 8-3 opening favor in the first set, on four kills to go with service aces from Scott and Schaberl. The Sharks continued to hold the lead as the opening frame wore on before the Blue Devils cut the deficit to three on a four-point stretch to bring the score to 13-10. Back-to-back kills from Nova out of the timeout extended the lead back to five. CCSU would cut the the deficit to within three on two occasions later in the set but LIU closed the set on a service error for the 25-21 opening set win.

The second set saw both teams trade points back-and-forth through the first couple rotations. LIU created a little separation a 6-2 run, led by a pair of kills and a solo block from Schaberl to jump ahead 11-8. CCSU responded with a three-point swing to tie the set back up at 11-11. From there it was a tightly contested set, building to a 20-20 standstill. It was a strong 5-1 stretch by the Sharks as a kill from Wiersma secured the 25-21 set win.

CCSU responded in the third set with an opening 11-5 advantage. As the lead for the home team continued to build, LIU cut back the deficit to five at 16-11 on blocks from Wiersma and Zirojevic along with a kill by Schaberl. The Blue Devils pushed the pace from there, eventually ending the set on a four-point run for the 25-16 set win.

LIU looked to brush off the third set by taking the first four points in the fourth set on three kills and block assist by Hubbard and Wiersma. The Sharks held lead for the next few rotations before a 5-2 stretch by the home team tied things up at 11-11. The lead would go back-and-forth from there to a 16-16 standstill but the Blue Devils earned four straight points to take the 20-16 lead. LIU worked back the deficit to two points as a kill from Schaberl brought the score to 22-20. CCSU used a three-point closing set to take the match into the deciding set with a 25-20 set win.

Looking to start conference play on the right foot, both teams traded points in the final set as the score reached a 10-10 tie. LIU eventually took the lead at 12-11 thanks to back-to-back kills from Schaberl and Nova to force a CCSU timeout. The Blue Devils worked the set back to a standstill at 13-13. The Sharks closed out the set on back-to-back kills by Schaberl to earn the 15-13 set win and take the opening league contest.

The Sharks registered a season-high 66 kills in the match and used a match-high .385 hitting percentage in the deciding set. LIU also tied its season-high in digs with 87 digs on the night.

UP NEXT

LIU returns home to downtown Brooklyn to conclude the weekend with a 4:00 p.m. match on Saturday, September 28 against Sacred Heart.