Volleyball Falls to LIU Brooklyn in NEC Opener
Blue Devils host St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday.
The Central Connecticut volleyball team fell in its Northeast Conference opener to LIU Brooklyn on Saturday afternoon at Detrick Gymnasium. The Blackbirds took the match, 3-0 (25-21, 25-18, 33-31), but Central held a lead in each set to push the defending league champions.
With the loss, CCSU slips to 8-6 overall and 0-1 in Northeast Conference play. LIU improves to 2-10 overall and 1-0 in the NEC.
LIU raced out to a 6-2 lead in the opening set before six straight points gave the Blue Devils an 8-6 lead. The Blackbirds broke a 10-10 tie with three straight points and would not relinquish the lead. Central hit .308 as a team in the opening set as junior Erika Jones and freshman Raquel Quirarte each had four kills.
Central rebounded from a three-point deficit in the second set to take a 7-5 lead and force an LIU timeout. The Blue Devils continued to lead at 10-7 after a kill by senior Heather Trueman, before an 8-1 run by the Blackbirds forced a CCSU timeout. A run of six consecutive points gave LIU a comfortable lead as it went on to win 25-18.
The Blue Devils came out in the third set and took a 5-2 lead after a kill by sophomore Maddie Smith. Following an LIU timeout, the Blackbirds came back to take a 9-7 lead and force a timeout by Central. After the Blackbirds went ahead 19-13, CCSU came back with a 5-1 run to get within 20-18 following a kill by Jones.
LIU served for the match at 24-21, but an error allowed CCSU to stay alive and tie the match at 24-all with freshman Kaitlyn Kushman serving. The Blue Devils served for the set as well, but three straight points, including back-to-back kills by Jiayi Zhang won the match for the Blackbirds.
Senior Makenna Lommori posted a double-double with 30 assists and 13 digs. Jones and Quirarte both finished with nine kills to lead CCSU. Junior Rachel Fish had 15 digs and Smith finished with five block assists as Central had nine blocks as a team.
Tamara Ignjic had a match-high 13 kills for LIU, while Nicole Hopton had 43 assists. Adriana Vinas Joy collected 22 digs.
The Blue Devils return to action when they host St. Francis Brooklyn on Sunday at 1:00 p.m. in Detrick Gymnasium.