WATERBURY, Conn. – Senior libero Alyssa Groves continued to reach milestones in her illustrious career with Post University Women's Volleyball, becoming the first player in program history to reach 2,000 career digs after recording 15 in Post's 3-0 sweep of Franklin Pierce University on Friday night in the Drubner Center. The win for the Eagles moved them to a perfect 6-0 on the season, continuing to extend their program's record start, while beating the Ravens for the first time in 21 years, having dropped their last 11 matches against them dating back to 2004. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Franklin Pierce University 0

Post University (6-0)

Franklin Pierce University (0-5)

HOW IT HAPPENED
In all three of the sets, Post's attack registered at least 10 kills and was again led by graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric with 13 kills on 41 attempts in the affair. The entire match saw just five ties, three of which were in the opening set, and two lead changes as the Eagles essentially led wire-to-wire in the sweep. The Ravens opened up their only lead of set one with a 2-0 start via a kill from sophomore outside hitter Adrianna Reay and a service ace from senior setter Annaka Lindstrom, which was met by a 5-0 run by Post featuring three kills from three different players en route to the eventual 25-17 win in the opening set.

Trailing 1-0 in set two, another 5-0 run by the Eagles, led by two service aces from junior outside hitter Vivien Andrea Fehervari, would give Post the lead they needed to maintain control throughout set two, leading by as many as 10 points on their way to a 25-16 set victory. Over the first two sets as a team, the Eagles had a .313 attack percentage in set one, followed by a .381 percentage in set two via 25 combined kills on 53 total attempts with only seven errors. Franklin Pierce amassed eight errors in the second set alone and a combined 13 kills across the first two sets on an evening where they had an attack percentage of just -.012 when all was set and done. 

Never trailing in the final set, Post's lead grew to as many as 13 points, finishing off the sweep in three sets, 25-13. The victory saw all 13 eligible players for the Eagles enter the match with sophomore setter Katelina Luzader garnering five assists, sophomore defensive specialist Lola Chagnon recording an assist, and sophomore setter Isabella Oliver serving on one of Post's third-set points. 

Junior outside hitter Neeyah Shahid-Stevenson and junior middle blocker Nuri Shahid-Stevenson each had four block assists, with the latter having six kills on 13 attempts for a .385 attack percentage. Nuri Shahid-Stevenson finished with a team-high .714 attack percentage following her five kills on seven attempts with no errors on a night where Post as a team had just 11 errors. Graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco led the way with 25 assists, while Lindstrom led Franklin Pierce with 13 assists. Post was paced by 10 service aces, including three each from Peric and sophomore outside hitter Rayssa Satlher, but also committed 10 service errors in the process of the win. 

Before the victory this evening, Post had lost 11 consecutive matches to Franklin Pier, with eight of those being in the form of sweeps since 2005. The closest the Eagles came in that stretch to snapping the streak before tonight was in a neutral-site match on September 18th, 2021, in which they led two sets to none before falling in five. The 3-0 sweep marks the first time in program history that Post has swept the Ravens in 18 all-time matchups. 

 BY THE NUMBERS

• Post University finished the match attacking at a .293 clip, their highest of the season, while holding Franklin Pierce University to a -.012 attack percentage for the match
• Finishing with 15 digs, Alyssa Groves became the first player in program history to reach 2,000 digs at Post University, now sitting at 2,008 digs in her four-year career
• The victory tonight for Post University is their first against Franklin Pierce University since 2004, dropping the last 11 matches against the Ravens before tonight's win 
• Starting the season 6-0, this is the best start Post University has had in program history, with the previous best being 2-0 in 2002 and 2004 

WHO'S NEXT
Conference play opens up for Post University Women's Volleyball next Wednesday when the Eagles take on Caldwell University at 7:00 PM on the road. Post has won seven of its last eight matches against the Cougars, including four in a row, all of which have been by 3-0 sweeps.