ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. –  A tale of two games for Post University Women's Volleyball as the Eagles closed out their trip to the Long Island Invitational this weekend saw them suffer their first sweep of the season at the hands of Molloy University, 3-0, before bouncing back with a 3-1 win over Assumption University in their second match of the day.

The win for Post snapped their four-game losing streak while the win for Molloy extended their winning streak to six straight heading into their evening match with Assumption who fell to 0-6 following their loss to the Eagles.
 
THE BASICS

Post University 0, Molloy University 3

Post University 3, Assumption University 1

Post University (3-5)

Molloy University (6-1)*

Assumption University (0-6)*

*Both Teams are Playing Each Other at Time of Publishing

HOW IT HAPPENED
Post University 0, Molloy University 3 
Graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric led the Eagles with 12 kills while graduate outside hitter Kiarra Roth had a match-high 17 kills for Molloy in their three-set victory. Post would get out to a fast start against the Lions in set one, scoring the first six points of the affair before the Lions slowly chipped away at the deficit leading to an 8-0 run and their first lead of the game which bloomed to a set-high 15-9 advantage.

The lead would not be relinquished from there and the set was finished off by junior middle blocker Teresa Moulder with back-to-back kills in the 25-19 win. That would be the same score of set two as well but this time it was Molloy jumping out to a 4-0 lead and never looking back the rest of the way. While the Eagles got to within two points on multiple occasions, that was the closest they would get before the Lions ripped off a few short runs to distance themselves en route to the win.
A more evenly matched set three saw things tied up at nine all before another big run by the Lions, this time of seven straight points, gave them a stranglehold on the set, 16-9, and then the match with a 25-18 victory in the 3-0 sweep.

As a team, Post attacked at .098 for the match with 18 errors compared to a .241 attack percentage for Molloy who committed 15 errors along the way. Senior setter Maria Fernanda Branco led the Eagles with 15 assists while junior libero Alyssa Groves had a game-high 21 digs followed by Peric's 15 digs which were third-most in the match behind 17 from junior outside hitter Aria Miller.

Post University 3, Assumption University 1 
Recovering from a first set that saw them fall down by seven before rattling off 10 straight points to nearly take it only to have it snatched away by Assumption, 26-24, at the end of it all, Post swept the next three sets to end their losing streak at four straight matches against the Greyhounds. Using an over .200 attack percentage across those three sets, the Eagles narrowly escaped sets two and three, 25-22 and 25-21, before handily winning set four, 25-13 to secure the victory.

The second and third sets would sway the way of Post late as a 4-0 run spurred on by three Assumption attack errors in set two secured the come-from-behind win there followed by a 4-0 run to knock out a 14-10 deficit then 4-0 run while tied at 21 in set three to move within one set of the win. A wire-to-wire final set saw the Eagles never lose control of the lead and finish the match on a 7-0 run which featured four of Peric's 12 kills in the win.

Graduate outside hitter Sara Enright led Post with 16 kills on a .333 attack percentage to go along with 15 digs while Groves tallied another 23 digs to her overall total for the day as she continues to inch closer to the program record. Senior libero Barbara Illig had 25 digs for Assumption and senior outside hitter Alexis Distasio led them with 13 kills in the sixth straight loss to open the season for the Greyhounds.  

BY THE NUMBERS

• Kristina Peric now has a team-leading 100 kills this season after going for 12 apiece in each match today – Peric has double-digit kills in seven of the team's first eight matches and 10-plus kills in five consecutive matches now 
• On the entire weekend, Kristina Peric and Caley Harper finished with the most attack attempts at 182 and 152 respectively – Peric finished with 52 kills and a .137 attack percentage while Harper had 38 kills and a .158 attack percentage
• This is the first time in the all-time series in which Post University has beaten Assumption University in four sets, in the previous five matchups the Eagles either swept the Greyhounds or lost in five sets
• Alyssa Groves tallied a total of 44 digs across both matches putting her at 1,242 in her career moving her past Vicky Ducharme for seventh-most in program history, Kerry Smith (2005-08) owns the all-time record with 1,689 career digs – Groves is only nine digs away from surpassing Kelly Hayes for sixth all-time and 12 digs away from passing Angie Arcadi for fifth all-time

 
WHO'S NEXT
Post University opens up its conference schedule this Wednesday against Felician University on the road at 7:00 PM.  Last season, the Eagles were swept for the first time since 2018 in the home-away matchup, losing 3-2 in the Drubner Center after forcing a fifth set with a 33-31 victory in set four and then being swept down in New Jersey in three sets, 3-0, later on in the year.