As senior Kaitlyn Kushman put it, the Central Connecticut women’s volleyball team, “just wanted to make history” Saturday in their match against LIU Brooklyn. For Kushman and CCSU, mission accomplished.

Coming into the match, the Blue Devils had not beaten LIU in six years. The six years of losses include a matchup in last year’s Northeast Conference Championship, where they were defeated 3-2. The Blackbirds came into the game with a 12-1 in conference record, sitting alone atop the NEC.

LIU lived up their resume early in the first, quickly taking a 15-10 lead. A timeout from CCSU seemed to cure the sluggish start, as they would shock the Blackbirds with a 7-2 run that tied the game at 17.

Both teams battled to a tie at 22, but two kills from Gala Galabova and one from Morgan Woycik would seal the comeback win for CCSU, 25-22.

“We saw something in our blocking that we wanted to adjust. Our defense was able to set up better behind the block and see a little better, I think it made a huge impact. We finished with 18 blocks, but we didn’t in that first set [before the timeout],” head coach Linda Sagnelli said of adjustments after the timeout.

“Once we stopped and adjusted it, it seemed like it settled everything down and everything started to fall our way.”

The second set looked to be more of the same, with the teams swapping runs until the score sat tied at 14. Mirroring the events of the first set, CCSU came out of a timeout swinging, jumping out to a 20-15 lead.

The five-point lead was the largest CCSU had amounted up to this point, but the Blackbirds would not go down easily, going on a run of their own to bring the game to within one, but CCSU was able to close out the second set with an ace from Emma Henderson, who did not miss a beat after re-injuring her thumb earlier in the set.

CCSU looked prime to take the sweep in the third, taking a 14-11 lead. But no lead was safe, as LIU was able to march back and tie the game at 17. LIU would extend their lead, but a call reversed in CCSU’s favor would close it to just two. They were unable to halt the Blackbirds after this, and they dropped the set 25-21, forcing a fourth.

“When we lost the third set, we knew exactly what we did wrong and cleaned it up right away,” senior Raquel Quirarte said.

LIU, appearing to have mustered up all its energy to take the third set, committed five early errors to help CCSU to an 8-3 lead.

LIU was able to string together a run that tied the game at 10. Two kills from Quirarte highlighted an ensuing five-point run, capped off by another Henderson ace. CCSU would not trail after this, setting up match point with a nine-point lead. A kill from Henderson closed the set with a 25-18 victory, winning the Blue Devils the match.

Henderson took over the match with points, scoring five aces to go along with her 13 digs and five blocks. Kaprelyan had another double-double night, scoring 11 kills and 18 assists.

Friday’s match against 5-8 St. Francis (BKN) marked similar results for CCSU, knocking them out in a three-set sweep.

CCSU had to battle early, facing a 10-7 deficit. A 5-0 run highlighted by two Quirarte kills would put them back in the driver’s seat, as they would not trail after this, and closed out the set with four straight, winning 25-18.

The Blue Devils did not trail in the second set following the opening point. Three Terrier errors and a kill from Henderson pushed CCSU to a 10-6 lead, but quick runs from SFBK would bring them to within one late. Central would not let it get closer than 19-18, going on a 6-1 that closed the set.

Trailing 19-17 late in the third set, the Blue Devils were desperate for a spark. Two kills each from Kaprelyan and Henderson did just that, helping CCSU go on an 8-0 run to win the game.

The weekend of wins put CCSU back into a tie for second place with Bryant in the NEC with a 10-4 record. The Blue Devils will face off against the Bulldogs for their first game in the NEC Tournament Friday.