WATERBURY, Conn. –  Sophomore setter Catalina Luzader filled in for the injured graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco in Saturday afternoon's CACC Championship Match rematch in the Drubner Center, going for 31 assists, to help Post University Women's Volleyball avenge their 2024 loss to Georgian Court University with a sweep of their own, 3-0.

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Georgian Court University 0

Post University (14-3, 5-0 CACC)

Georgian Court University (5-12, 2-4 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In comparison to their championship meeting last year, Post countered the Georgian Court offensive attack, holding them to only a .034 attack percentage throughout the contest, after allowing them to hit at a .291 clip. The Eagle attack finished at a .263 for the match after last year being at just .203 in that same championship match. A remarkable 27 attack errors plagued a Lions team that had just seven in their championship sweep last season, while it was Post limiting their mistakes with only 10 in the win.

Defensively, six different Eagles had at least one block assist for a combined 25 total blocks, with 24 block assists and one block solo, their new season-high after going for one block solo and 22 block assists against AIC just a couple of days ago. The efforts come after last year's championship match saw Post have no blocks of any kind against Georgian Court.

As she has done all season, graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric dominated once more with 16 kills on 46 attempts with only five errors for a .239 attack percentage, marking the 16th time this season she has reached double-digit kills. While no other Eagle reached double-digit kills, junior middle blocker Nuri Shahid-Stevenson had a .467 attack percentage with her seven kills and stuffed the stat sheet defensively with seven block assists and one block solo. Freshman outside hitter Elyana Ortiz matched her with seven kills of her own and a .313 attack percentage as all three Eagles with 10-plus attack attempts finished with an attack percentage above the .200 mark.

Sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan and junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson both had five block assists and combined for five kills, while senior libero Alyssa Groves led all players with 20 digs and the Lions did not have a single player double-digit dig performance. Meanwhile, Luzader had 31 assist in relief of DiFrancesco after having 43 assists against Saint Anselm College just a couple weeks ago in her first extended action of the season.

Post trailed out of the gate, 4-1, before a 5-0 run gave them the lead for good in a 25-20 set one victory, which was followed up by a dominant set two in which they came out on top, 25-14. The biggest challenge of the afternoon for the Eagles came in set three, as they trailed 6-1 early and by as many as six points before a 5-0 run, while trailing by three, 21-19, flipped the set back in their favor. After a 3-0 run by the Lions put them on the brink of forcing a fourth set, a timeout by Post helped reset them for a 3-0 run of their own to cap off the sweep with a 26-24 win in set three.

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sitting at 2,258 career digs after tonight's match, Alyssa Groves is only 275 digs away from surpassing Chestnut Hill College's Regina Trabosh for the most digs in CACC history, with 2,533 career digs from 2013-16
• Between her time at AIC and Post University, Alice DiFrancesco entered the match with 1,831 career assists, but did not appear in today's match, still sitting 169 assists away from 2,000 in her career
• Kristina Peric recorded 16 kills on 46 attempts with five errors, making it her 16th match of the season in which she has had double-digit kills out of 17 total matches
• The Shahid-Stevenson sisters finished with a combined 13 total blocks, with Nuri Shahid-Stevenson having one block solo and seven block assists, while Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson had five block assists
• The win for Post University is their first against Georgian Court University since the 2023 season, a five-set win at home, after dropping both matches against the Lions last season, including the CACC Championship Match

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will hold its Dig Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Match on Wednesday evening at 6:00 PM against Felician University in the Drubner Center. The Eagles swept the Golden Falcons in their two matches last year, winning 3-0 on the road, before overcoming a 2-0 deficit at home in October to win in five sets.