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Brooklyn, NY  – LIU Brooklyn claimed its second straight  NEC Women's Volleyball Tournament Championship title in the past 10 years, the most of any Northeast Conference program, after a 3-0 (25-12, 25-19, 25-14) win over Central Connecituct State Sunday. In winning their second straight championsh, the Blackbirds earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. 

The announcement of the NCAA Tournament field is scheduled for Sunday, December 1 at 9 p.m. on ESPNU. The NCAA First and Second rounds will being played on campuses around the country during the weekend of December seventh.

NEC Player of the Year Annika Foit (Hausach, Germany/Robert-Gerwig-Gymnasium) recorded a match-high 18 kills to lead a Blackbird offense that nearly doubled the Blue Devils kill tally. LIU Brooklyn totaled 57 kills in Sunday's Championship, while the team held Central Connecticut to just 28. 

The Blackbird defense was precise, blocking 10 balls, with middle blockers Jessica Rice (Marltoon, NJ/Cherokee) and Nicole Okeke (DeSoto, TX/Central Arkansas) knocking down five blocks a piece. 

Tournament MVP Vera Djuric (Lazarevac, Serbia/Svetozar Markovic) dished out a cool 41 assists, cornering a balanced offensive attack. Tamara Ignjic (Belgrade, Serbia/First Economic) anchored the outside tallying 15 kills. Foit and Ignjic combined for 58 of LIU's 99 attempts.  The pair tallied 33 kills but only recorded five errors. 

Adrianna Vinas Joy (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) sprawled for a match-high 17 digs. 

In her last outing as a Blue Devil, senior Veronika Ban (Newbury, Park/Pierce Colelge) led Central Connecituct with nine kills, while freshman Cassidy Stankowski (Deerfield, MA/Frontier Regional) added seven. Classmate Brooke Schwab (Beaverton, OR/Beaverton) led CCSU at the net with three blocks. 

LIU Brooklyn controlled the pace of much of the game, only trailing three times throughout the match.  The Blackbird serve opened up the LIU lead in each set, thanks to Mirjana Rajic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sportska Gimnazija) on the service line. In the first set, Rajic held serve for a seven-point Blackbird run to give LIU a 14-6 edge. Following in the second set, Rajic rattled off three serves, to bring the Blackbirds to 23-16.

The third set belonged to Vinas Joy. The sophomore NEC Libero of the Year went on a 7-0 run, bringing the Blackbirds to 18-7. The Blackbirds would go on to win, 25-14. 

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

Northeast Conference All-Tournament Team
Kristin Thompson - Robert Morris
Dianis Mercado - Sacred Heart
Veronika Ban - Central Connecticut
Makenna Lommori - Central Connecticut 
Annika Foit - LIU Brooklyn
Vera Djuric* - LIU Brooklyn

*Denotes Tournament MVP

2013 Northeast Conference Women's Volleyball Championship
Hosted by LIU Brooklyn - Brooklyn, NY
Click Here For Championship Program (PDF)
Click Here For All-Conference Release

Semifinals
Sat.	Nov. 23	Semi: #1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #4 Robert Morris 0           (25-14, 25-13, 26-24)	FINAL | Box | Recap | Highlights
		Semi: #2 CCSU 3, vs. #3 Sacred Heart 0          (25-20, 25-21, 25-20)	FINAL | Box | Recap | Highlights
Championship
Sun.	Nov. 24	Championship: #1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #2 CCSU 0                          (25-12, 25-19, 25-14)	FINAL | Box | Recap | Highlights