LAKEWOOD, N.J. -- It was a match that lived up to the expectations it carried given the two teams playing in it and their records entering the day in conference play. Riding an eight-game winning streak with only one loss against conference opponents, Post University Women's Volleyball faced Georgian Court University on the road, who had two conference losses so far this year, on Saturday afternoon tangling with the Lions for five sets before falling 3-2. 

With the win for the University of Bridgeport over Wilmington University today, the Purple Knights pull within one game of the CACC North Division's top spot as they get ready to take on the Eagles next Wednesday on their home court. For Post, they simply need to win one of their last two matches to capture the division crown for the first time since 2018. 

THE BASICS

Post University 2, Georgian Court University 3

Post University (17-9, 12-2 CACC)

Georgian Court University (16-9, 12-2 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric paced the Eagles yet again with a match-high 19 kills on 58 attempts for a .207 attack percentage to go along with her eight digs and two block assists. Graduate outside hitter Sara Enright also accounted for 15 kills on 45 attempts hitting her way to a .178 attack percentage as well as 11 digs. For junior libero Alyssa Groves, she continued her rampage defensively as she has all season long with 27 more digs which was second among all players behind only sophomore libero Carmen Rivera for the Lions who had the match-high 30 digs. 

For the Georgian Court offense, they were led by senior outside hitter Giorgia Cappelletti and her 17 kills while graduate outside hitter Nylene Mateo continued her impressive campaign alongside senior middle blocker Chelsea Ross with 14 kills each. Ross finished with a .545 attack percentage which led all players while Mateo attacked at a .089 clip as that trio of scorers were three of only five Lions to record kills with senior middle blocker Amiyah Woods and sophomore middle blocker Gabrielle Belony having five apiece. 

To open up the match, the Eagles looked in control having a 25-17 opening set win behind 14 kills and only four errors for a .303 attack percentage while the Lions attacked at .148 with only eight kills and four errors. Post capitalized off their 6-2 start to the match to lead by as many as nine points, 20-11, before finishing off the set on a 3-0 run after allowing Georgian Court to score five of the previous six points before that. It would be the Lions' time in set two to regain momentum at home, going ahead 15-8, before a 5-0 run featuring two service aces from Groves made it just a two-point set. With the score just 19-18 in favor of Georgian Court, they would use a set-ending 6-0 run to capture a 25-18 win and tie the match at one set.

Once again looking firmly in control during set three which saw Post lead 19-13, the Lions roared back with a 4-0 run and following a back-and-forth exchange of points found themselves tied at 22 with the Eagles down the stretch. Trailing 24-23, Woods would force the two sides into a tiebreaker with her kill before senior middle hitter Hannah Brandt's kill and Peric's service ace got Post within one set of victory following a 26-24 win. 

But the Lions would go on to win the next two sets, 25-23 and 15-11 to complete the come-from-behind win, however, it would not come without having to narrowly avoid disaster in set four. Leading 24-16, three attack errors as well as kills from Enright and Brandt plus a service ace by senior outside hitter Caley Harper turned that eight-point lead into a one-point lead, 24-23, before the 7-0 run was stopped by an attack error from Brandt leading to the fifth set. 

Only taking the lead once in the final set, Post led 7-6 following a kill from Harper before five straight points by the Lions helped them seize the set and the match, 3-2, in what could be looked at as a CACC Championship preview depending on the path the two teams potentially take when the postseason rolls around in just over a week. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Kristina Peric continues to lead the way offensively for Post University adding another 19 kills to make it six consecutive matches with double-digit kills and 21 matches with double-digit kills overall 
• When Post University's attack percentage is above .200 for an entire match, they are 12-0 this season – When the Eagles attack below .200 as a team, they are 5-9 overall, Post attacked at a .169 clip this afternoon at Georgian Court
• After winning four consecutive matches that went to five sets this season, Post University dropped just their fourth match that went five sets during their campaign and is now 5-4 in such situations 
• At 12-2 in conference play this season, Post University is still on pace to finish with their fewest conference losses in a single season since 2016 when they went 17-2 

WHO'S NEXT
Post University closes out the road side of their regular season schedule this Wednesday at 7:00 PM against the University of Bridgeport in hopes of clinching their first CACC North Division title since 2018. In the Drubner Center earlier this season, the Eagles picked up just their second win in program history against the Purple Knights in a five-set thriller, 3-2.