Volleyball Falls in Five to LIU in NEC Opener

Central Connecticut pushed LIU to the limit in the Northeast Conference volleyball opener before falling in five sets, 3-2, on Friday at Detrick Gymnasium. Central dropped the first two sets before bouncing back to send the match to a decisive fifth set. Senior Madelyn Kapreylan had a triple-double for the Blue Devils, while juniors Samantha McCreath and Emma Henderson posted double-doubles. CCSU is back in action on Saturday when it hosts Fairleigh Dickinson.

GAME INFORMATION
Score: CCSU 2, LIU 3 (25-21, 25-21, 16-25, 20-25, 15-13)
Records: CCSU (4-9, 0-1 NEC), LIU (2-11, 1-0 NEC)
Location: Derick Gymnasium (New Britain, CT)

KEY MOMENTS 

• LIU would build a 8-3 lead in the opening set. The Blue Devils would use a late 5-2 run to get within, 24-21, but the Sharks would close out the set following a CCSU error.
• The second set was tied at 20-20 before LIU scored four straight points to push its lead to 2-0 in the match.
• Central scored the first six points of the third set to take control from the get-go. The Blue Devils led throughout to extend the match.
• In the fourth set, CCSU trailed, 11-8, before scoring three straight to tie the set. Central scored five straight late in the fram to go ahead 20-17 and take the lead for good to go to a fifth set.
• LIU scored the first three points of the fifth set, but CCSU would claw back to tie the score at 5-5. CCSU led, 11-10, but the Sharks would score back-to-back points to take the lead and then scored the final two points of the match.

QUOTE

"There were so many positives in that match. We could've given up after losing set one and set two and we didn't. It was all about having heart, determination and fight. I loved what I saw coming from an 0-2 deficit. I think that's what we have to take away, because we're right there," said head coach Linda Sagnelli.

NUMBER TO KNOW

80 - CCSU had a season-high in digs, with four players recording double-figures in the category.

NOTES 

• Kaprelyan had her second triple-double of the year with 18 kills, 21 assists and 11 digs.
• McCreath added 10 kills and 18 digs, while Henderson had 11 kills and 16 digs.
• Senior Erin McDermott had 29 assists - her second-highest single-game total of the year.
• Junior Eline van Heijningen had a team-high three blocks.

UP NEXT
Central will play Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 5:00 p.m.