BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team opened the 2016 Northeast Conference season in strong style in the Steinberg Wellness Center Saturday afternoon, sweeping Fairleigh Dickinson, 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 25-20).
 
FDU came out strong in the first set, scoring the first two points of the match. LIU was able to come rallying back, however, outscoring the Knights 7-1 over the next few minutes, taking the lead, 7-3. Kills from Katharina Krepper, Alex Larsen and Viktoria Fink helped keep the Blackbird run going. Another 5-0 spree by LIU widened the gap to 12-5, and the Blackbirds were in control from there. FDU was able to rally late, scoring four straight points to cut the lead down to 23-18, and then 24-20, but a kill from freshman Filippa Hansson ended the first set, 25-20, in favor of LIU.
 
Set two saw the Blackbirds come out on a tear. Four kills from Fink, and two service aces by Larsen helped the home team take a decisive 8-2 lead early on.  LIU widened that lead to 12-4, and then later used a 6-0 run to make the difference even bigger, 20-10. Down 23-13, FDU started to make a comeback, however. The Knights scored five straight points as a part of a 6-1 run that cut LIU's lead down to 24-19. But the Blackbirds were able to land the final kill on a dump from Amanda Hubbard, taking the second set, 25-19, and the 2-0 match lead.
 
Though the score was similar to the first two sets, set three was much more of a back and forth affair, with the score tied six times, and the lead changing hands twice. FDU capitalized on early LIU errors to go up, 3-2, and would stay up until midway through the set. Down 8-10, LIU rallied to score four unanswered points, including two kills from Larsen, and a service ace from Emily Magee that would give the Blackbirds the lead once more, 12-10. FDU would come back to tie it up 15-15, and then again, 17-17, before LIU took the lead for good. Late in the set, a kill from sophomore Jiayi Zhang helped sparked a run for the Blackbirds. Five unanswered points point LIU up, 22-17. Though FDU would go on a 3-0 spree to close the gap to 22-20, LIU answered with a 3-0 run of its own to seal the set. Larsen connected on three straight kills to give LIU the 25-20 third set win, and the 3-0 match decision.
 
Sophomore Viktoria Fink led LIU with 16 kills and eight digs, while senior Alex Larsen had 14 kills and nine digs. Freshman Emily Magee had four service aces, while classmates Amanda Hubbard and Natalia Rivera led LIU in assists (36) and digs (20), respectively.
 
Up next, the Blackbirds host Sacred Heart, Sunday, September 25 at 1 p.m.