GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – It has not been about how they start, but rather how they finish in the first four matches of the season for Post University Women's Volleyball. Off to their best start in program history at 4-0 following a pair of five-set wins against Belmont Abbey College in the first-ever matchup between the two programs and the first-ever win in program history against Adelphi University, the Eagles have yet to win the first set of a match. 

Down 1-0 in their first four matches of the year, Post has rallied back in every instance to take a 2-1 set lead, winning both of their games in four sets on Friday before being forced to a deciding fifth set in both games on Saturday. Last season, the Eagles were 6-4 in five-set matches and now start 2025 off with a 2-0 mark following the results on Saturday to cap off the Long Island Invitational with a perfect 4-0 record. Making a big statement this weekend, the Eagles took down a pair of opponents who were regionally ranked at the end of last season in Queens College and Adelphi, with the Panthers entering the season receiving eight national votes from the AVCA. 

THE BASICS

Post University 3, Belmont Abbey College 2

Post University 3, (RV) Adelphi University 2

Post University (4-0)

Belmont Abbey College (1-3)

(RV) Adelphi University (1-3)

HOW IT HAPPENED
Graduate outside hitter Kristina Peric continued her weekend dominance on the attack, leading the team with 35 kills on 117 total attempts for a .171 attack percentage across the two games, including 20 kills against Adelphi in the second match of the afternoon. Peric closed the four weekend games with 76 kills, 41 digs, seven assists, six total blocks, and three service aces to help account for 83 Post points. 

Graduate setter Alice DiFrancesco was just as impressive in setting up Peric, having 74 assists on Saturday alone, but a total of 140 for the entire weekend. DiFrancesco went for 40 assists and 20 digs against the Panthers, in a match where senior outside hitter Macarty McQueen set the single-game record for kills in Adelphi history with 29 in the loss. McQueen attacked at a blistering .448 clip with only three errors and led the team with 24 digs despite the Panthers falling to 1-3 to start the 2025 campaign. Junior outside hitter Madeleine Chaapel lit up the score sheet as well for Adelphi with 16 kills.

Rounding out the trio of Eagles who had big weekends was last year's All-American and current senior libero Alyssa Groves, with 51 digs on Saturday and 103 on the weekend. Groves also had 14 assists, 10 service aces, and one kill in four games, while having a weekend-high 30 digs against Belmont Abbey in the first game of the day. The Crusaders were led by senior middle blocker Chloe Lowder, who had 10 kills as well as sophomore setter Emma Youngblood's 39 assists and 17 digs each from the duo of sophomore outside hitter Renata Bolado and sophomore libero Mallory Swain. 

Faced with a 10-10 tie in the fifth set of their match against Belmont-Abbey, a 5-0 run courtesy of two Crusader errors, along with a kill and service ace from DiFrancesco and sophomore middle blocker Alani Duncan's kill, Post would take the set and match to move to 3-0. Duncan recorded her first 10-plus kill game of the season in that affair, teeing off for 11 kills, the second-most on the team, and committing only one error to finish with a .476 attack percentage. 

Freshman outside hitter Elyana Ortiz had her breakout moment in set five against Adelphi in the second match of the day, going on a 3-0 run of her own, which gave Post the lead by three, 9-6. Ortiz finished with 10 kills for the second time during the weekend, in which she had 29 kills overall. Trailing 10-7, McQueen's back-to-back kills spurred a 6-1 run that put the Panthers on the brink of the comeback victory, up 13-11 when, like against the Crusaders, Post responded with a game-defining run. 

Starting with a kill from Duncan, Chaapel's attack error, which the Panthers unsuccessfully challenged as staying in play, and a kill from Peric put the Eagles on the brink of victory ahead, 14-13. Delivering the final blow of the game-winning 4-0 run, another attack error by Chaapel that sailed into the net sealed the deal for Post on their best start in program history at 4-0, following the 15-13 victory in set five. 


BY THE NUMBERS

• Alice DiFrancesco finished the match against Adelphi University with 40 assists and 20 digs -- DiFrancesco closed the weekend with 140 assists, 53 digs, and 13 kills across the four games
• This was the first time Post University and Belmont Abbey College faced off against each other, while the match against Adelphi University marked the first time in program history that the Eagles both won a set and a match against the Panthers in program history 
• Post University has lost the opening set in their first four matches of the season, starting 4-0 this year after going 5-6 when dropping set one last season
• Starting the season 4-0, this is the best start Post University has had in program history, with the previous best being 2-0 in 2002 and 2004, making the win against Belmont Abbey their best start in program history, and the win against Adelphi University extending said history 

 
WHO'S NEXT
Returning to Connecticut for their 2025 home opener, Post University will face Mercy University, a team that was regionally ranked at the end of last year, on Thursday evening in the Drubner Center at 7:00 PM. Meeting last season in Dobbs Ferry, the Eagles won a back-and-forth match with the Mavericks, 3-2, in five sets after pulling away for an 18-16 victory in that final set.