WATERBURY, Conn. – Looking to notch a statement victory on Halloween in the Drubner Center, Post University Women's Volleyball faced off against the University of Bridgeport who entered the day leading the North Division at 11-1 and had the best record in the Central Atlantic Collegiate Conference.
 
In hopes of keeping pace with Dominican (N.Y.) and Felician University in the North to potentially secure a home match in the CACC Tournament in just under two weeks, the Eagles would get off to strong starts to open three of the four sets on Tuesday night. However, the offensive power of the Purple Knights would prevail as they outlasted the Eagles in four sets, 3-1.
 
THE BASICS

Post University 1, University of Bridgeport 3

Post University (6-21, 6-7 CACC)

University of Bridgeport (19-6, 12-1 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Momentum would be on the Eagles side to start the match as they would jump out to a 5-1 lead, making the most of two Bridgeport errors, a service ace from junior outside hitter Kaila Sandy and one kill each from senior setter Izabella Rae and junior middle hitter Hannah Brandt. But the Purple Knights would charge back into the set with a 4-0 run before both sides exchanged runs that saw the Eagles go ahead 10-7. Once again Bridgeport would answer back with nine of the next 12 points, putting them in control for good in set one despite a .111 hitting percentage with a 25-21 victory.
 
The Post response would be swift in set two as they would once again start on a big run, this time to the tune of a 10-1 lead with the Purple Knights committing three errors along the way while junior middle hitter Kaitlyn Lemmon, junior outside hitter Caley Harper, and Rae each added two kills. Bridgeport would slowly chip away at their deficit, pulling within three on two occasions, before the Eagles put them away with a 6-1 run ending in back-to-back kills from junior outside hitter Tamara Radovanov, 25-17.
 
Coming back in set three in a big way, Bridgeport showed why they lead the North Division and have the best record in the conference with a resounding 25-17 win. A total of eight errors would be the Eagles undoing as both teams finished with a hitting percentage south of the .150 mark and combined for a total of 19 kills in which the Purple Knights held an 11-8 advantage. At the net, Post had tallied five blocks to Bridgeport's one, but a 10-point lead for the Purple Knights would stand up to put them on the verge of their 12^th conference win of the season.
 
Backs against the wall, Post University would fight and claw in hopes of forcing a fifth set and after a back-and-forth opening saw the set tied at six all, Bridgeport would eventually take a three-point lead which would hold steady until the Eagles fought back with a 4-0 run to take a 21-19 lead, forcing a Purple Knight timeout. That would be the turning point once things came down to the wire and it was 23 all as a Sandy service error and a service ace from freshman defensive specialist Ella Young sealed the set and win for Bridgeport, 25-23.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sophomore libero Alyssa Groves finished with 21 digs, bringing her to 940 digs on the season and 60 away from reaching 1,000 in only her second season 
• Caley Harper finished with fourth-most kills on the season for a match with 17 while tallying 15 digs, the third-most she has had in a match this year  
• Freshman outside hitter Hailey Jessen paced Bridgeport with 19 kills and a .289 hitting percentage
• Post University is now 1-18 all-time against the University of Bridgeport and is currently on a three-game losing streak versus them with that win coming on the road last season

WHO'S NEXT
Post University hits the road for a game before coming back to the Drubner Center for a Saturday afternoon matchup against Chestnut Hill College. The Eagles will square off against Felician University at 7:00 PM on Thursday in what will be a crucial matchup towards the final standings in the North Division. In the first matchup this year in Waterbury, Post fell in five sets after leading 2-1 and dropping the fourth set, 33-31. It was their first loss to the Golden Falcons in their last three matches.