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LIU Brooklyn is back in a familiar place against a familiar opponent. The three-time defending champion Blackbirds will attempt to win their 10th NEC women's volleyball crown in 12 years on Sunday after beating fourth-seeded Sacred Heart, 3-1, in the first semifinal of the day at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, NY. LIU will take on second seeded Robert Morris, a 3-1 winner over Bryant in the nightcap. The two teams, who split their two regular season meetings, met in last year's title match with the Blackbirds posting a 3-0 victory. Match time is Sunday at 4:00 pm. Watch live on NEC Front Row.
#1 LIU Brooklyn 3, #4 Sacred Heart 1 (29-27, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18)
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Brooklyn, NY -- Three-time defending champion LIU Brooklyn will be moving on to the NEC Women’s Volleyball Championship match after taking down #4 seed Sacred Heart, 29-27, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, in the first semifinal in Brooklyn. This marks the 11th time in the past 12 years that the top-seeded Blackbirds will be competing in the title match. LIU has won nine of the last 11 NEC crowns.
LIU (14-12) and Sacred Heart (15-14) battled it out in the opening set as there were 14 lead changes or ties. The Blackbirds would eventually outlast the Pioneers, 29-27, in a marathon set.
After LIU rolled to a 25-17 win in the second set, the Pioneers staved off elimination with a 25-21 victory in the third set.
With LIU trailing, 14-13, in the fourth set, the Blackbirds went on a 6-0 spurt to take command en-route to a 25-18 victory and yet another spot in the NEC title match.
The Blackbirds were led by All-NEC first teamer Tamara Ignjic (Belgrade, Serbia/First Economic), along with Mirjana Rajic (Belgrade, Serbia/Sportska Gimnaija) and Alex Larsen (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove). Ignjic led the attack with a double-double, finishing with 19 kills and 10 digs, Larsen contributed 13 kills while Rajic added 11 for LIU.
Four-time NEC Libero of the Year Adriana Viñas Joy (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista) anchored the Blackbird defense with 28 digs.
The Sacred Heart offense was led by NEC Player of the Year Sarah Krufka (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro) and Bruna Bon (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil/Centro Educacional da Logoa). Krufka and Bon recorded 18 kills apiece. Bon added 14 digs for a double-double while Tori Kemper (Banks, OR/Valley Catholic) chipped in with 10 kills and 16 digs on the night. Junior Ana Gonzalez (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico/Academia Maria Reina) paced the SHU defense with 18 digs.
#2 Robert Morris 3, #3 Bryant 1 (26-20, 23-25, 25-13, 25-22)
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Brooklyn, NY -- Second-seeded Robert Morris will be making a return trip to the NEC Women’s Volleyball title match after defeating third-seeded Bryant, 25-20, 23-25, 25-13, 25-22, in the evening’s second semifinal at the Steinberg Wellness Center in Brooklyn, NY. The Colonials will face regular season champion LIU Brooklyn in a rematch of last year’s final won by the Blackbirds.
After the two teams split the first two sets, RMU (18-12) took the pivotal third set in a most unusual manner, winning 15 straight points to take control after Bryant (19-14) opened with a 5-4 lead. winning 15 straight points.
The two teams battled back in forth in a fourth set that featured 13 ties. With the score deadlocked at 21 apiece, the Colonials won four of the last five points to win the, 25-22, and reach Championship Sunday.
The RMU offense was sparked by All-NEC first teamer Kristin Thompson (Monroe, OH/Bishop Fenwick), who registered a team-high 16 kills. Junior April Krivoniak (Latrobe, PA/Latrobe) and Arden Fisher (Oakmont, PA/Riverview) both recorded double-doubles. Krivoniak tallied 14 kills and 14 digs, while Fisher had 11 kills and 28 digs on the night. Freshman Taylor Lord (Inwood, WV/Musselman) also hit double-digit kills, finishing with 11 for RMU. Leah Dunivan (Troy, OH/Miami East) contributed six blocks.
Bryant was led by Kristin Kingi (Thousand Oaks, CA/Thousand Oaks) and Julia Flynn (Pembroke, MA/Notre Dame Academy) as both recorded a double-doubles. Kingi had 20 kills along with 13 digs, while Flynn added 18 kills and 10 digs. NEC Setter of the Year Vika Nesterov (Kfar Saba, Israel/Wingate Academy for Sports Excellence) had her own double-double as she dished out 44 helpers to go along with 16 digs.