BROOKLYN, N.Y.— The Long Island University volleyball team rallied to defeat Sacred Heart, 3-2 (22-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-23, 15-12), on Saturday afternoon at the Steinberg Center. The Sharks finished the opening NEC weekend with a pair of wins for the second straight season. LIU has now battled to the fifth and final set in four straight matchups, coming away with a 3-1 record.

The Sharks saw three double-double efforts for the second straight night as seniors Amanda Hubbard and Kora Schaberl along with freshman Karolina Nova finished with double-doubles. Nova produced 20 kills on the offensive end and tied the team-high with 20 digs. Schaberl also finished with 20-plus kills for the second straight night, finishing with a match-high 23 kills. She added 13 digs on defense for LIU.

Hubbard tallied 47 assists and and added 15 digs for the Sharks. Junior Masa Zirojevic led the team with a .381 hitting percentage as she finished with nine kills. Sophomore Anastasia Scott registered 20 digs for LIU. Junior Kristina Mamic recored a team-high seven total blocks at the net. 

The opening set saw the Sharks jump out to an early 5-2 advantage on kills from Nova, Schaberl and Zirojevic coupled with a pair of SHU errors. The Pioneers battled from there working the set to a 8-8 tie. LIU would take back the lead with a 5-2 stretch on errors by the Pioneers and one kill from Schaberl to go up 13-10. SHU used a 7-1 run to take hold of the lead in the set at 17-14. LIU recouped after a timeout for the set lead, putting together a 5-1 swing as a service ace from Strongman brought the score to 19-18. After both teams traded points, the visiting Pioneers on a 6-2 run to take the set 25-22.

Both teams would go back-and-forth on the serve to start the second set before LIU used a three-point swing on kills from Schaberl and Strongman to jump ahead 8-5. The Sharks lead eventually grew to five, at 14-9. As the set wore on, SHU eventually cut the deficit back down to one at 16-15. The Sharks used a 6-2 stretch to extend the lead as a block assist from Schaberl and Mamic put the score at 22-17. LIU itched to within set point but the Pioneers were there to match, cutting the score to 24-22.  A kill from Strongman sealed the set 25-22 as the Sharks registered a stellar .419 hitting percentage.

SHU responded to open the third set, building up an early 13-6 advantage. LIU used a 5-1 stretch shortly after on a block assist from Mamic and Nova along with four kills from Schaberl to cut the deficit to 15-12. The Pioneers were there to match using a 6-2 run to push the lead up to seven at 21-14. LIU pieced together another run to chip away at the deficit with a five-point stretch on two kills and a solo block by Nova along with a service ace from freshman Fleur Wiersma to bring the score to 21-19 in favor of SHU. The Pioneers closed the set on a 4-1 run to take the set 25-20 and control in the match.

The fourth set was a tightly contested battle that saw the score tied up on 12 occasions. The back-and-forth frenzy built to a 17-17 standstill. After a kill gave SHU the one point advantage, LIU broke the set open with a five-point run on kills by Schaberl and Zirojevic to jump ahead 22-18. SHU would chip back at the LIU lead, making it a one point match at 24-23. Schaberl used one final kill to earn the 25-23 set win and force the deciding set for a fourth straight match.

LIU stormed out of the gate in the final set with a 6-1 lead early that forced a SHU timeout. The Sharks lead would get cut down to three points at the 10-7 mark by the Pioneers. A kill from Nova and an attack error extended the lead back to five at 12-7 and forced SHU to use its final timeout. The Pioneers eventually cut the LIU lead down to two points at 13-11 but faulted on a pair of service errors to give the Sharks the 15-12 set win and the match.

The Sharks controlled the battle at the net, recording 13 total blocks to the SHU seven on the night.

UP NEXT

The Sharks return to the court on Saturday, October 5 for a 5:00 p.m. match at Fairleigh Dickinson.