For the second consecutive season, the #NECVB Final will feature top-seeded LIU Brooklyn and #2 seed Central Coonnecticut State. Both emerged victorious in Saturday's semifinal matches and will meet on Sunday in NEC Women's Volleyball Tournament Championship in Brooklyn, NY. The Blackbirds swept #4 Robert Morris 3-0, while CCSU ousted #3 Sacred Heart, also by a score of 3-0. The two teams will take the floor at the Steinberg Wellness Center at 3:00 pm. The match can be viewed live on NECFrontRow.com.
Click Here For Championship Headquarters
#1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #4 Robert Morris (25-14, 25-13, 26-24)
Click Here For Boxscore
Click Here For Highlights
Brooklyn, NY – In dominant fashion, the LIU Brooklyn volleyball team showed a home crowd of 352 why it was the #NECVB Regular Season Champion. The top-seeded Blackbirds swept #4 Robert Morris 3-0 (25-14, 25-13, 26-24) in Saturday’s first semifinal match.
LIU will make its 10th appearance in the past 12 years in Sunday's final. The Blackbirds hit .450 for the match, and were led by sophomore Tamara Ignjic (Belgrade, Serbia/First Economic) with 16 kills. The NEC Player of the Year Annika Foit (Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium) notched 15 kills on an errorless match, hitting .500. Jessica Rice (Marlton, NJ/Cherokee) tallied 11 kills and four blocks.
Vera Djuric (Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic) led a balanced offense, dishing out 46 assists.
Robert Morris (9-22) was led by outside hitter Arden Fisher (Oakmont, PA/Riverview). The freshman compiled six kills, 11 digs and two blocks. Sydney Sizemore (Taylor Mill, KY/Holy Cross) also added six kills, hitting .300.
LIU Brooklyn controlled the first two sets, hitting an astounding .633 in the first set alone. After the second set and a 10 minute break, Robert Morris led most of the third, but a late push by the Blackbirds punched the squads ticket to the finals.
Trailing 18-21, Mirjana Rajic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sportska Gimnazija) rattled off four serves to tie the set at 22-22. Ignjic had the hot hand, scoring three of the squads last four points, giving LIU a 26-24 victory.
The Blackbirds will take on Central Connecticut Sunday in the Championship match at 3:00 pm.
#2 Central Connecticut 3, #3 Sacred Heart 0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-20)
Click Here For Boxscore
Click Here For Highlights
Brooklyn, NY -- For the first time in program history, Central Connecticut State volleyball defeated Sacred Heart in a #NECVB semifinals. Heading into Saturday's night cap, the Blue Devils were 0-3 against the Pioneers in NEC semis, but the youthful squad overcame adversity to advance to Sunday's final. CCSU swept Sacred Heart 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-20).
In true Blue Devil form, CCSU held Sacred Heart to a .075 attack percentage, thanks to 15.5 team blocks. Freshman Brooke Schwab (Beaverton, OR/Beaverton) led the squad with nine block assists, many of them with sophmore NEC first team selection Makenna Lommori (Yerington, NV/Yerington) who added five.
Outside hitter Heather Trueman (Chino Hills, CA/Chino Hills) led the Blue Devil offensive attack with 10 kills on 23 attempts, hitting .348 on the evening. The Blue Devils hit .309 as a team, recording just seven errors. Schwab added seven kills on a perfect 12 attempts. Veronika Ban (Newbury Park, CA/Pierce College) had a solid evening with eight kills, swinging .357, and seven block assists.
Picking up what the block missed was Rachel Fish (North Branch, MI/North Branch) with 10 digs, while Lommori dished out 28 assists.
Sacred Heart was led by senior Dianis Mercado (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) who ended her career with 14 kills on 36 swings. NEC Rookie of the Year Sarah Krufka (Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro) claimed 13 kills.
In a tight match, Sacred Heart never let Central Connecituct out of grasp. Trailing much of the contest, the Pioneers battled for each point. In the first set, the Blue Devils caught their first break on a service error by Sacred Heart's Jene Lee (San Dimas, CA/San Dimas). CCSU freshman Cassidy Stankowski (Deerfield, MA/Frontier Regional) rattled off five serves, giving the BLue Devils a 22-16 edge. Mercado would break the spell, but it wouldn't be enough to overturn the deficit.
The second set mirrored the first game's action, but trailing 14-22, Sacred Heart's Ana Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) kept the Pioneers drive alive leading Sacered Heart on a 7-0 run from the service line. Despite the heroic effort, the Central Connecticut block would end the contest 25-21.
CCSU led the entire third set, highlighted again by Stankowski's serving efforts and Trueman's offensive attack. The Blue Devils took set three 25-20.
The Blue Devils will take on LIU Brooklyn Sunday in the Championship match at 3:00 pm.