MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. - For the second straight weekend, the LIU Brooklyn volleyball team avenged a Northeast Conference loss from earlier this season. On Saturday, the Blackbirds defeated Robert Morris, 3-1 (25-18, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23), to win their seventh straight match and improve to 9-12 on the year and 8-2 in NEC play. Senior Tamara Ignjic led the way with 20 kills and 11 digs, while junior setter Nicole Hopton also recorded a double-double with 38 assists and 10 digs.

The Blackbirds got off to a hot start, opening up a 7-3 lead to force a Robert Morris timeout in the first set. Three straight points out of the break pushed the margin to 10-3, and a kill by senior Mirjana Rajic extended the advantage to 18-9 and caused the Colonials to call their final timeout of the set. From there, the Blackbirds cruised to a 25-18, first-set win to take a 1-0 advantage.

The second set was nip-and-tuck throughout, with the first 10 points going back and forth before three from Robert Morris pushed the home team on top, 8-5. The lead moved to 10-6 before four straight from LIU, including a pair of kills by senior Nicole Okeke, knotted the frame up at 10-10. With the score still tied at 19-19 later in the set, three straight points behind the serve of senior Adriana Vinas Joy pushed LIU Brooklyn in front 22-19.

Robert Morris came back to trail by just one, 22-21, but a kill from junior Mengdi Zhao and an ace from junior Nicole Hopton gave the Blackbirds set point. Another kill, this one from junior Alex Larsen, continued the charge for LIU Brooklyn and put the visitors on top by two sets.

The Colonials would not go down without a fight, however, and came back from a 22-20 hole in the third to win the set, 25-23. LIU Brooklyn rebounded in the fourth, overcoming brief one-point deficits at 17-16 and 20-19 to take the deciding set 25-23.

LIU Brooklyn will look to continue its hot streak on Sunday, Nov. 1 with another road match against Saint Francis U. First serve is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.