WATERBURY, Conn. – Graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric nearly made conference history on Sunday afternoon against Holy Family University, finishing with a record-tying 37 kills for Post University Women's Volleyball in a five-set loss to the Tigers, 3-2, on Senior Day in the Drubner Center. Peric, who attacked at a .333 clip with only eight errors on 87 attempts, tied McKenzie John from Dominican (N.Y.) back on November 1st, 2014, and Emily Roth from the University of the Sciences on October 29th, 2005, when sets were still played to 30 points, for the all-time single-game mark. 

Despite the loss, Post did still earn the top seed in the CACC Tournament overall as Wilmington University dropped its weekend matchup with the University of Bridgeport, meaning in a tiebreaker scenario, the Eagles would come out on top due to their four-set win on the road earlier this season. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Holy Family University 1

Post University (22-4, 11-1 CACC)

Holy Family University (18-8, 9-4 CACC)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Entering the day, Post was 9-2 on the year when dropping the first set as they would do again on Sunday, 25-20, after having the early momentum against the Tigers. In what could end up being a CACC Championship Game preview, the match featured a total of 33 ties and 10 lead changes as dominance from either side in the first two sets resulted in a 1-1 tie heading into set three following a 25-17 win in set two for the Eagles.

Of those 33 ties, a whopping 17 would come in the third set alone, which also featured five lead changes before Post held on for the 25-23 win. The largest lead for either team was three points, 9-6, in favor of the Tigers before a 3-0 run by Post reinvigorated the back-and-forth point sequence. Once more leading by three, 21-18, Peric started a 4-0 run that gave Post the lead back, and after a quick exchange of points, her kill and a block from junior middle blocker Vivien Andrea Fehervari and sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan, finished the set. 

Senior outside hitter Shelby Kinzer, who ended with 19 kills and a .326 attack percentage, put Holy Family on her back to start set four with four consecutive kills as part of a 6-0 run by the Tigers and although Post would respond to get within two, 12-10, Holy Family would never relinquish their lead and force a decisive fifth set, coming away with a 25-16 win. 

Kinzer continued her stellar day with a kill to start set five, sparking a 4-1 run for the Tigers, 11 points away from the 15-point mark needed to seal the victory. But as Peric continued to race towards history, her two kills turned the tables back in favor of Post. 5-4, after their 4-0 run, as a back-and-forth ensued again. With their backs against the wall down 14-12, two Tiger errors pulled the set even at 14, until Kinzer and freshman outside hitter Mackenzie Layton laid down back-to-back kills, snapping Post's nine-game winning streak, 16-14, in set five. 

Layton, who missed some time earlier this year, led the way for Holy Family with 27 kills and a .286 attack percentage, followed by Kinzer's 19 kills and 18 digs for the double-double. The Tiger offense also saw senior middle hitter Ava Kidd close with double-digit kills with 11 for a team effort that saw Holy Family attack at a .226 clip, including .444 in the final set with 15 of their 16 points coming via kills.

Outside of Peric's 37 kills, who also recorded a double-double with 13 digs, nobody on Post finished in double digits as junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson was the next closest with six kills as Post's fifth set saw them attack at a .467 clip with no errors but only seven kills on 15 attempts. Graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco had 41 assists, but freshman setter Mia Wise nearly closed in on CACC history of her own with 57 assists for Holy Family. 

Senior libero Alyssa Groves is on the verge of CACC history herself, sitting only 56 digs away from the all-time career digs record set by Regina Trabosh from Chestnut Hill College, while Post as a team fell to 5-3 in five-set matches following the loss today. 

BY THE NUMBERS

• Sitting at 2,477 career digs after tonight's match, Alyssa Groves is only 56 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
• Post University's home winning streak of 23 consecutive matches was snapped with the loss today -- It was the longest home win streak in program history after the Eagles won 22 consecutive home matches from October 3rd, 2015, until September 9th, 2017 
• Despite the loss, Post University locks up the top seed overall in the CACC Tournament after Wilmington University lost to the University of Bridgeport this weekend
• Post University falls to 5-3 in five-set matches this season -- The Eagles are now 2-3 in the all-time series in five-set matches against Holy Family University

WHO'S NEXT
Post University finishes the regular season next week with a pair of matches on the road, starting with a matchup against Felician University on Wednesday night at 7:00 PM. Missing Kristina Peric earlier this year at home against the Golden Falcons, the Eagles overcame a first-set defeat to win in four sets, 3-1.