WILMINGTON, Del. – The last time Post University Women's Volleyball and Holy Family University met this season, it was a five-set epic that saw graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric tie conference history with 37 kills in a match. In Saturday's CACC Semifinals follow-up between the North Division's top-seeded Eagles and South Division two-seed Tigers, history was once again made by Peric in another five-set defeat for the Eagles, 3-2.

Despite Peric tying the CACC record for most kills in a tournament match with 35 and a .284 attack percentage, Post would falter on match point in set three on three occasions before forcing a fifth set while being on the brink of elimination. But unable to escape the Tigers again, the Eagles dropped the fifth set and will now have to wait until Monday night to see if their name is called as an at-large team for the NCAA Tournament. 

THE BASICS

Post University 2, Holy Family University 3

Post University (25-5)

Holy Family University (21-9)

HOW IT HAPPENED
All but the fifth set were decided by four points or less, and the Eagles would end up finishing the match with more points than the Tigers, 87-81, despite dropping the affair. The attack for Post, as was the case for Holy Family as well, only got better, going from a .158 to open things up and rising to a match-high .319 by the time the fourth set rolled around. For the Tigers, they started at a .109 clip and peaked in set five, when it mattered most, with a blistering .333 attack percentage to advance to the CACC Championship Game on Sunday at noon.

Peric was the only Post attacker to finish with double-digit kills, as the next closest was sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan with eight kills on 17 attempts with only three errors for a .294 attack percentage. On defense, three Eagles finished with double-digit digs, led by senior libero Alyssa Groves with 19, while graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco had 13 digs, and Peric had a double-double with 11 digs. DiFrancesco picked up her 20th double-double of the year with a season-high 52 assists and those 13 digs.

Also making conference history on the defensive side of the ball was junior middle blocker Nuri Shahid-Stevenson, as she had 11 total blocks, the third-most in a single conference tournament match in CACC history. But in a match that saw 36 ties and 16 lead changes, neither team let the other out of their sights despite, at times, taking leads of five-plus points. In fact, to clinch set one, Post would need a 5-0 run while trailing 22-20 in order to come back with a 25-22 win.

Then in set two, when Holy Family took a 14-8 lead, four consecutive points by Post got them back into the set and eventually pulled them even at 20 all before three errors offensively spurred a 4-0 run by the Tigers to knot the match up at one set each, 25-21. But the biggest momentum shift would come in the third set as a 3-0 run started by Peric brought Post to set point, 24-21, on the brink of a 2-1 advantage heading into the fourth set. Instead, the Eagles would have to play from behind as a bad set from Nuri Shahid-Stevenson was the beginning of a 3-0 Tigers run to tie it at 24 all, and again with Post ahead 25-24, two more errors from sophomore outside hitter Rayssa Satlher and junior outside hitter Vivien Andrea Fehervari turned the tide in favor of Holy Family who escaped with a 27-25 come-from-behind set win. 

With their CACC Championship hopes on the line, Post would answer the call despite falling behind 5-0 right off the bat. Trailing by as many as six points, Peric willed her team back into the set with 10 kills total, including the set-winning one on Post's final 2-0 run started by junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson in a 25-23 win. Beginning set five with a 1-0 lead, that would end up being the only time Post led, falling behind by seven, and only getting within three points, as for the second time this season, Holy Family took them down in five sets, winning set five, 15-9. 

Just as impressive as she was in the first matchup, freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Layton went off for 23 kills on 60 attempts with 10 errors for a .217 attack percentage. followed by senior outside hitter Shelby Kinzer's 19 kills and 10 kills from junior outside hitter Kalia Espenlaub. Freshman setter Mia Wise finished with 57 assists, and Kinzer led the defense of Holy Family with 22 digs, as the Tigers only had seven total blocks in the match today. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Kristina Peric tied the CACC Tournament record for most kills in a single match with her 35 in the loss -- Juruena Silveira of Bloomfield College set the record against Wilmington University on November 8th, 2005 
• With 88 attack attempts, Kristina Peric sits second in conference history for most attempts in a single tournament match behind only Juruena Silveira of Bloomfield College in that same Wilmington University match on November 8th, 2005, when she had 90 attempts
• Nuri Shahid-Stevenson finished with 11 total blocks after recording nine block assists and two block solos, placing her third all-time for most in a single CACC Tournament match in conference history
• This is the first time Post University has lost in the CACC Semifinals since 2016, when they fell to Caldwell University in five sets, 3-2 -- That season, the Eagles made the NCAA Tournament as an at-large bid and fell to Daemen University in the first round in five sets, 3-2

WHO'S NEXT
Post University will await Monday's NCAA Division II Women's Volleyball Selection Show at 7:30 PM to see if they earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament.