BROOKLYN, N.Y. - The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team advanced to its fifth-straight Northeast Conference championship match Saturday afternoon in the Steinberg Wellness Center, as the top-seeded Blackbirds defeated No.4 seed Sacred Heart, 3-1 (29-27, 25-17, 21-25, 25-18). LIU will take on the winner of the #2 Robert Morris/#3 Bryant game, Sunday, November 22 at 4 p.m.

The first set was a battle, setting the tone for the rest of the match. Sacred Heart jumped out to a 4-2 lead, but LIU rallied back to tie it up on a kill from Alex Larsen, 4-4. From there, the score would be tied 14 times, and the lead changed hands five times. LIU used a solo block from junior Mengdi Zhao to take a 15-12 lead midway through the set, but SHU answered with a 3-0 run to tie up the set, and the battle raged on. LIU seemed close to ending the fight when a kill from senior Tamara Ignjic gave the Blackbirds the 22-19 advantage, but again the Pioneers would rally back to tie the score. LIU had set point on a kill from Ignjic, but SHU would answer with a kill to force the set long. It would be the first of five set points the Blackbirds reached before they would take the set, as the Pioneers fought back every single time. In the end, a block by senior Nicole Okeke and junior Nicole Hopton put LIU up, 28-27, and a Sacred Heart attack error clinched the set for the home team, 29-27.

In the second set, it seemed that the two teams would follow the same pattern, as the score was tied 3-3 and then 4-4, before one team would take the lead for good. LIU would go on a 7-1 run, including three kills and a service ace from Larsen, in a spree that would put the Blackbirds up, 11-5. Just a few points later, LIU had widened that lead to 14-16, and the Blackbirds stayed in the driver's seat from there. Though Sacred Heart would rally to score points late in the set, it wasn't enough, and mistakes cost the Pioneers. In the end, the Blackbirds took the second set, 25-17, and the 2-0 match lead.

Set three saw the Pioneers come out swinging. After taking a 3-2 lead, Sacred Heart would not trail. Every time the Blackbirds came close, SHU would find a way to retake the lead. The Pioneers capitalized on two LIU errors to take a 22-16 lead late in the set, but the Blackbirds rallied back, scoring five more points before they let the visitors score the game winner. A kill by NEC Player of the Year Sarah Krufka gave the Pioneers the 25-21 set win, putting the match score at 2-1.

In the fourth set, it was the Blackbirds who came out ready to play, and LIU vaulted out to a 6-3 lead, on back-to-back kills from senior Mirjana Rajic. LIU would eventually widen that lead to 13-9, but Sacred Heart would string together five unanswered points to tie the set up, and take a 14-13 lead. LIU answered that run with one of their own, scoring six straight to take the 19-14 lead. From there, with momentum firmly on the side of the home team, LIU rolled. A kill from Ignjic gave LIU set point, and when Sacred Heart hit the ball long, the Blackbirds took the fourth set, 25-18, and the match, 3-1.

Senior Tamara Ignjic led the Blackbirds with 19 kills and 10 digs in the win, while junior Alex Larsen added 13 kills and seven digs, and senior MIrjana Rajic had 11 kills. Senior Nicole Okeke had eight blocks for LIU, while junior Mengdi Zhao had seven blocks, including three solo stuffs. Junior Nicole Hopton had 46 assists and ten digs, while senior Adriana Viñas Joy led the defense with 28 digs.

The Blackbirds will look to win their fourth-straight Northeast Conference championship title when they play the winner of the second semifinal for the NEC Championship, Sunday, November 22 at 4 p.m. in the Steinberg Wellness Center.