2015 #NECVB Tournament Headquarters | Live Stats | Live Video
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BROOKLYN, N.Y. - For the fifth straight season, LIU Brooklyn volleyball will host the Northeast Conference Tournament in the Steinberg Wellness Center as the top-seeded team. The tournament, which takes place Saturday, November 21 and Sunday, November 22, determines the NEC Champion and the conference's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, November 21
4 p.m. - #4 Sacred Heart vs. #1 LIU Brooklyn
6:30 p.m. - #3 Bryant vs. #2 Robert Morris
Sunday, November 22
4 p.m. – Championship Match
All games of the 2015 NEC Women's Volleyball Tournament will be broadcast live on NEC Front Row. You can also watch via the NEC on the Run app for iOS devices, or on any mobile device's browser.
TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
2015 #NECVB Tournament Headquarters
Tickets
Tickets will be available the day of the event at the host site. Ticket prices are $8 for adults, $4 for senior citizens and children between the ages of 11-18. Children under the age of 11 and NEC students with an institutional I.D. will be admitted free.
Directions
For directions to LIU Brooklyn, click here.
SCOUTING THE FIELD
#1 LIU Brooklyn
The Blackbirds head into their 14th-straight NEC Tournament; LIU is the top seed for the fifth year in a row as the regular season champions, and are looking to win their 10th title in the past 12 years. The Blackbirds will also be looking to make history, as they attempt to win their fourth-straight Northeast Conference championship title.
LIU finished the season with a 13-12 overall record, and 12-2 in the NEC. The Blackbirds had a rocky start to the conference season, falling to Bryant (3-1) and RMU (3-0), in the program's first regular-season NEC losses in nearly four years. But since then, the Blackbirds have been on a tear, winning 11 straight to finish first in the league. In those 11 wins, LIU dropped only five sets, including avenging its two losses with a 3-0 sweep of Bryant, and a 3-1 defeat of RMU.
The Blackbirds are led by three strong seniors. Senior Adriana Viñas Joy bolsters LIU's defense; the libero is ranked nationally in two categories, coming in eighth in the nation and first in the NEC in services aces per set (0.49), and is 15th in the nation and second in the league in digs per set (5.23). Earlier in November, the senior set a new program record for digs in a career, and will graduate with over 1,950 digs to her name. Seniors Tamara Ignjic and Nicole Okeke also rank in conference stats: Ignjic is second in the NEC with 3.39 kills per set, and Okeke is one of the top middle blockers in the conference, with 91.0 total blocks and a 1.06 blocks per set average, the second best in the NEC.
#2 Robert Morris
The Colonials come into the tournament riding big five-match win streak, including a big win last weekend. Robert Morris beat Bryant on Saturday, 3-2, to vault over the Bulldogs and take the No.2 seed in the tournament. The Colonials are no stranger to the postseason, as this weekend will be their 17th-consecutive trip to the NEC Tournament.
RMU finished the regular season with a 17-12 overall record, and 11-3 in the NEC. The Colonials' three losses come at the hands of each of the three other tournament teams: 3-1 losses to SHU and Bryant in October, and a 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Blackbirds on Halloween.
RMU is led by junior Arden Fisher on offense, who ranks third in the NEC with 3.14 kills per set, and junior Leah Duncan, who is the top blocker in the conference, with a 1.19 blocks per set average.
#3 Bryant
The Bulldogs finished their season on a down note, dropping both matches last weekend to fall to the No.3 seed, but that won't sour Bryant's triumphs. The Bulldogs are making their first-ever DI postseason appearance as a program, and set new Division I program records for total wins (19) and conference victories (10). Bryant finished the year 19-13 overall, and 10-4 in NEC action.
The Bulldogs are led by senior libero Debora Magalhaes, who ranks sixth in the nation and leads the NEC, with 5.65 digs per set. And sophomore setter Vika Nesterov controls Bryan's offense, averaging 8.25 assists per set, the second best total in the league.
#4 Sacred Heart
The Pioneers also lost both matches in the final weekend of the regular season, dropping matches to LIU and SFBK. Sacred Heart now stands at 15-13 overall, 9-5 in the NEC. The Pioneers are led by Sarah Krufka, who leads both the team and the NEC, with 3.86 kills per set, hitting a scorching .328 on the season.
SELECTION SHOW
The winner of the NEC Tournament will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Selection Show is scheduled for Sunday, November 29 at 9:00 p.m. on ESPNU. NCAA first round matches will take place December 4-6.