WATERBURY, Conn.  – Graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco reached 2,000 career assists between her time at AIC and with Post University Women's Volleyball, recording 42 assists against Caldwell University in the Drubner Center on Wednesday night to lead the Eagles to a four-set win, 3-1, against Caldwell University.

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Caldwell University 1

Post University (19-3, 9-0 CACC)

Caldwell University (0-19, 0-10 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Snapping a stretch of 15 consecutive sets lost to the Eagles, it was Caldwell coming out on top in set one, 25-22, behind a blistering 7-0 run while trailing by three points, 22-19. That set would end up being the worst offensive set of the evening for Post at a .143 attack percentage, as each of the next three sets ended with attack percentages at or above the .200 mark. The reverse was true for the Cougars, who attacked at a .162 clip in set one before going on to hit at a .000 in two of the next three sets with a -0.03 second set as well. As a result, Post finished the match boasting a .255 attack percentage while Caldwell's fell to just .038 for the match.

Over the final three sets, the Eagles trailed just twice, both of which came in the third set with 5-4 and 6-5 scores; otherwise, the two teams would be tied only eight times the rest of the way. As a team, Post accumulated 15 total blocks, led by five block assists each from sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan and junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson, while junior middle blocker Nuri Shahid-Stevenson had the lone solo block to go along with her two block assists. That defense held Caldwell to under 20 points in each of the final three sets with the Eagles coming out on top, 25-11, 25-16, and 25-18 en route to their sixth straight victory, a 9-0 conference record, and a perfect 10-0 home mark.

Another big game for graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric saw her attack at a .280 clip with 22 kills and only eight errors on 50 total attempts, while also adding on nine digs, two service aces, and two block assists in the win. Senior libero Alyssa Groves broke out for 30 digs, her most since October 18th at Jefferson University, when she also had 30 digs, as she continues to inch closer and closer to conference history, needing 159 more digs to set the all-time record.

While DiFrancesco broke the 2,000 career assist mark, she nearly broke her single-season assist high with 42 assists, one shy of her 43 against Mercy University at the beginning of the year. But she would record her 15th double-double of the season with 10 digs after having her streak of 10 consecutive matches with a double-double snapped last match against Chestnut Hill College. Nuri Shahid-Stevenson nearly had 10 kills as well for Post, going for nine on 16 total attempts with only two errors to finish with a team-high .438 attack percentage. 

On the Caldwell side, they were led by junior outside hitter Andrea Enabosi and senior outside hitter Wyette Schubert-Brown, who both had 10 kills each, with Enabosi finishing with a .103 attack percentage, which was comparable to Schubert-Brown's .065 finish. Senior setter Jordan Marck closed with 24 assists, while both junior libero Ava Railton and sophomore libero Stephanie Ramos eclipsed double-digit digs with 10 and 11, respectively. Caldwell remains a winless 0-19 on the season and has lost 20 consecutive matches dating back to last season, but has only been swept nine times this season. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sitting at 2,364 career digs after tonight's match, Alyssa Groves is only 159 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 cracked the 2,000 career assist mark after recording 42 assists in the four-set win tonight
• Post University has now won six consecutive matches against Caldwell University, dating back to the 2023 season, with this being the first one during the streak that has not been a 3-0 sweep
• At 19-3 this season, Post University is off to its best start since the 2016 season, in which they began the year with a 24-3 record before ending the season 26-6 -- That year also coincides with the only season the Eagles were undefeated at home, going a perfect 13-0, whereas this year they are currently 9-0 at home with four matches left following tonight's win 

WHO'S NEXT
With six matches remaining in the regular season, Post University heads on the road to face Wilmington University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 PM, before returning home for its final three home matches of the regular season. The Eagles snapped a four-game losing streak against the Wildcats last season with a 3-0 sweep of them in the Drubner Center.