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Brooklyn, NY  – LIU Brooklyn picked up its first NEC women's volleyball Championship title since 2009 and its seventh in 10 years after coming back from a 0-1 deficit against #3 Central Connecticut in a tightly-contested, 3-1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22) match on Sunday afternoon on the Blackbirds' home court in Brooklyn, NY.

The announcement of the NCAA Tournament field is scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 25 at 4 p.m. on ESPNU. The NCAA First and Second Rounds will being played on campuses around the country during the weekend of December first.

NEC Player of the Year and Tournament MVP Annika Foit (Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium) notched 20 kills, 13 digs and 5 blocks while teammate Tamara Ignjic  (Belgrade, Serbia/First Economic) recorded 22 in the win. Vera Djuric (Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic) made 50 assists and 18 digs. NEC All-Conference Second Team selection Emily Cochran (Adel, IA/Adel-DeSoto-Minburn) tallied 20 kills and 10 digs for the Blue Devils. 

Central Connecticut picked up an early lead, but the two squads traded points for the most of the first set. The Blue Devils pulled ahead toward the end of the stanza with the score at 18-17, and led the rest of the way to pick up the win, 25-22. Cochrain laid down eight kills, while Veronika Ban (Newbury Park, CA/Los Angeles Pierce College) and Rachel Dunlap (Sonora, CA/Lee College) each recorded three blocks. 

The score stayed close again in the second game, with the Blue Devils holding a narrow one-point margin before the Blackbirds pulled away at 9-9 with three straight points. But the Blue Devils did not let the Blackbirds get away from them, tying the score at 13-13 on a kill from Cochran before regaining the lead on the next point, and eventually holding their own three-point advantage. LIU Brooklyn evened the score at 22 before holding on to take the second stanza 25-22 on a final kill from NEC Player of the Year Annika Foit  (Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium).

Central Connecticut pulled ahead at the start of the third set, but the Blackbirds were able to close to the gap at 9-9 after a Blue Devil atttack error. The teams traded points before LIU Brooklyn took over at 12-11 and held a three point lead at 16-13. The Blue Devils collected three quick points to even the score but the Blackbirds regained the lead at 21-18 and found themselves at set point with the Blue Devils down by six. CCSU was not done yet, however, scoring five straight. It was not enough though, as Foit and Bianca Muniz (Lake Elsinore, CA/Arizona Western College) came back with a block to seal the set win at 25-23.

The fourth game was once again a back-and-forth battle, with LIU Brooklyn never leading by more than two and Central Connecticut tying the score three times until the score was 9-9. The held a point lead momentarily before the Blackbirds collected one of their own. The trade-off continued until the Blackbirds pulled ahead at 16-14. They continued to lead the rest of the way, despite several Blue Devil attempts to pull ahead, and went on to win the title, 25-22. 

This is head coach Kyle Robinson's third NEC tournament victory.

Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team
Elizabeth Williams- Saint Francis (PA)
Amanda Craig - Robert Morris
Emily Cochrain - Central Connecticut
Makenna Lommori - Central Connecticut 
Annika Foit* - LIU Brooklyn
Tamara Ignjic - LIU Brooklyn

*Denotes Tournament MVP

2012 Northeast Conference
Women's Volleyball Championship
Hosted by LIU Brooklyn

Click Here for Championship Program (PDF)

Semifinals
Sat.	Nov. 17	Semi: #1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #4 Saint Francis (PA) 1 (28-30, 25-18, 25-16, 25-14)	FINAL | Recap | Box Score | Highlights
		Semi: #3 CCSU 3, #2 Robert Morris 1 (25-23, 25-17, 13-25, 25-21)	FINAL | Recap | Box Score | Highlights
Championship
Sun.	Nov. 18	Championship: #1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #3 CCSU 1 (22-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-22)	FINAL | Recap | Boxscore| Highlights