BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team will finish its four-match Northeast Conference (NEC) road slate this weekend with a pair of contests against Robert Morris and Saint Francis U. The Blackbirds will take on the Colonials on Friday, October 20 at 7 p.m. and face the Red Flash on Saturday, October 21 at 5 p.m.
LAST TIME OUT
LIU won its fourth match in five tries with its 3-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson on October 14. Juniors
Nina Petranovic (25 kills, 14 digs) and
Viktoria Fink (17 kills, 11 digs) each recorded double-doubles as the Blackbirds improved to 12-8 overall and 5-2 in the NEC. Petranovic's kill total set a new season-high for the Blackbirds and fell just two kills shy of the current NEC match high of 27. Sophomores
Amanda Hubbardand
Natalia Rivera led the team with 42 assists and 25 digs, respectively.
BLACKBIRD OUTLOOK
With a conference record of 5-2 and tied for second in the league with Central Connecticut, the Blackbirds are in prime position to make the NEC Tournament and defend its 2016 title. Their fate will be decided in Brooklyn, as four of their last five matches after this weekend will be at home, with the last one happening across town at St. Francis Brooklyn.
LIU is the only team in the NEC to rank in the top five in all seven major team categories - hitting percentage (3rd, .185), opponent hitting percentage (3rd, .180), assists (3rd, 11.59/set), kills (5th, 12.31/set), blocks (5th, 1.82/set), service aces (3rd, 1.41/set), and digs (3rd, 16.77/set).
Individually, the Blackbirds are led by Viktoria Fink (3.32 kills/set; 5th in NEC),
Amanda Hubbard (6.64 assists/set; 5th in NEC),
Natalia Rivera (5.27 digs/set; 2nd in NEC),
Filippa Hansson (.273 hitting percentage; 7th in NEC),
Katharina Krepper (1.06 blocks/set; 2nd in NEC), and
Masa Zirojevic (0.30 service aces/set; 9th in NEC).
SCOUTING ROBERT MORRIS AND SAINT FRANCIS
RMU is 9-13 (3-4 NEC) and has lost four straight matches entering Friday. The Colonials are led by Emma Granger (2.99 kills/set), Brianna Frakes (8.61 assists/set), and Allie Yurkovich (3.53 digs/set). SFU won its last match against conference-leading Bryant to move to .500 on the year (10-10) and 4-3 in the NEC. The Red Flash are led by Kelsey Roush (3.97 kills/set), Amelia Metzler (9.56 assists/set) and Jenna Veres (5.74 digs/set).
LIU won its last matchups with both Robert Morris (3-2) and Saint Francis (3-0) two weeks ago in Brooklyn.