ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y. (Sept. 19, 2017) – In electrifying fashion, the Molloy volleyball team improved to 11-1 on the season (1-0 East Coast Conference), defeating the Pioneers of LIU Post for the first time since 2012, by a score of 3-2.

Redshirt sophomore Carly Banks (Camas, Wash.) led all attackers with 19 kills while sophomore Sophia Smith (Georgetown, Texas) and senior Dakota O'Neill (Long Beach, N.Y.) also led the contest, totaling 53 assists and 20 digs, respectively.  Joining Banks in double-digits were sophomore Devon Hagerstrom (Bethpage, N.Y.) and freshman Kacey Affrunti (Levittown, N.Y.) while junior Meaghan Carr (Mineola, N.Y.) tallied 14 digs. Affrunti also recorded seven block assists, helping the team to 21 total blocks on the evening.

Set-by-Set
Set One: Molloy 25, LIU Post 21
Set Two: LIU Post 25, Molloy 22
Set Three: Molloy 25, LIU Post 23
Set Four: LIU Post 25, Molloy 15
Set Five: Molloy 15, LIU Post 11

The opening three sets saw a flurry of back-and-forth action between the two teams, with no team taking more than a five-point lead at any time. In the fourth set, despite Molloy jumping out to a 7-3 lead, the Pioneers rallied for five straight points to take an 8-7 lead. A kill from Hagerstrom knotted the contest at 8-8, but the Lions were unable to regain a lead. LIU post ended the contest on a six-point rally to force a tie-breaking fifth set.

The deciding set started out like the four before it, and the teams found the score tied 3-3. Banks, the ECC Player of the Week, started a six-point rally for the Lions with a kill from the league's Setter of the Week, Smith. From there, freshman Emily Meyer (Seaford, N.Y.), sophomore Jessica Fischetti (Seaford, N.Y.), and Hagerstrom propelled Molloy to a 9-3 lead. LIU Post would come within two, 10-8, but Banks ended the set and the contest, 15-11, with a kill that erupted a thunderous Quealy Gymnasium.

Up Next
The maroon and white will take on the Bears of New York Institute of Technology, who also sit at 1-0 in ECC play, tomorrow (Sept. 20) at Recreation Hall in Old Westbury, N.Y. at 7:00 p.m.