BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team survived a five-set thriller Sunday afternoon in the Steinberg Wellness Center, beating Fairleigh Dickinson 3-2 on Senior Day, 25-19, 14-25, 25-22, 22-25, 15-9). With the win, the Blackbirds clinched the regular season Northeast Conference championship, and will host the NEC tournament, November 21 and 22, as the top seed for the fifth year in a row. Prior to Sunday's match, the Blackbirds honored their five graduating seniors (Cydni Asuncion, Tamara Ignjic, Nicole Okeke, Mirjana Rajic and Adriana Viñas Joy), in their last regular season match in the Steinberg Wellness Center.

The Blackbirds rolled out to a strong start in the first set, taking an 8-1 lead over the Knights. Though FDU would eventually come back to close the gap to 11-14, LIU rattled off three straight points to widen the lead back up to 17-11. Again, the Knights closed the lead down to three with kill, 19-22, but the Blackbirds end the set on a kills from seniors Mirjana Rajic and Tamara Ignjic, 25-19.

Set two was closer to start, and eventually the Knights took a 12-9 lead over LIU. With the advantage, FDU began to roll. Not too much later, the Knights scored seven unanswered points to take a 22-11 lead over the Blackbirds. LIU fought back to score three more points, but the Knights used a kill and a block to take the second set, 25-14.  It was the first time since 2010 that FDU has won a set against the Blackbirds.

Set three was close up until the final serve. LIU took an early 8-4 lead, but the Knights would come back to close the gap to 10-11. LIU eventually re-widened the lead to 16-12, but the Knights scored four straight points to tie it up, 16-16. FDU continued to chip away at LIU's efforts, taking a 22-19 lead over the home team. But the Blackbirds were able to stage a late rally. Sparked by a kill from Alex Larsen, along with two service aces from the junior, and LIU rally to tie the set, and take a 23-22 lead. A kill from junior Nicole Hopton, followed by another service ace by Larsen, and the Blackbirds squeaked past the Knights to take set three, 25-22.

The battle raged on into the fourth set, with the two teams trading the lead back and forth. With the scored tied, 11-11, FDU took a 13-11 lead. LIU would stay close, using an ace from Larsen to keep it 14-15, but the Knights would rattle off three straight points, capitalizing on LIU errors to go up, 18-14. The Blackbirds again would rally back to tie the set up, 18-18, but the Knights took a slight lead, and in the end, were able to take the fourth set, 25-22, forcing a decisive fifth frame.

The fifth set stayed close, much like the rest of the match. LIU wouldn't take the lead for good, until freshman Viktoria Fink had a kill to make it 6-4. From there, the Blackbirds scored three straight points, to widen the gap to 8-4. Back-to-back kills from Ignjic put LIU in the driver's seat, 13-7, and just a few plays later, a kill from Fink gave LIU the fifth set win, 15-9, and the match victory, 3-2.

Senior Tamara Ignjic led LIU with a career-high 27 kills, and 12 digs. Senior Adriana Viñas Joy had 34 digs and three service aces, while senior Nicole Okeke had 15 kills and six blocks. Junior Nicole Hopton had a career-high 57 assists, along with five blocks. Senior Cydni Asuncion had 14 digs, while junior Alex Larsen had five service aces.

Up next, the Blackbirds host the Northeast Conference Tournament, Saturday, November 21, and Sunday, November 22.