BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- This weekend, the LIU Brooklyn Volleyball team will host the 2017 Northeast Conference (NEC) Tournament while attempting to claim the program's 11th tournament title in the process. The top-seeded Blackbirds will kick off the two-day event on Friday, November 17 at 3:30 p.m. against the No. 4 seed Robert Morris and No. 2 Bryant will face No. 3 Central Connecticut at 6 p.m. The winners of the two semifinals will battle for the NEC crown and the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid on Saturday, November 18 at 3 p.m.
Tickets for the NEC Tournament are $6 for adults, $3 for seniors and kids 11-18, and FREE for NEC-affiliated students with ID and kids 10 & under.
HOW LIU GOT HERE
LIU enters the postseason with great positive momentum as the team looks to defend its 2016 championship. The Blackbirds ended the regular season with an 18-9 overall record, an 11-3 NEC mark that earned them a share of the program's tenth regular season title, a perfect record at home (9-0) for only the third time in team history, and a season-high six-game winning streak - matched only by a similar late-season run in 2016.
LIU continues to be the lone team positioned in the top half of all of the NEC's major team statistical categories: hitting percentage (.193; 3rd), opponent hitting percentage (.166; 2nd), assists (11.98/set; 1st), kills (12.71/set; 4th), blocks (1.99/set; 2nd), service aces (1.34/set; 4th), and digs (17.49/set; 2nd).
The Blackbirds are led by
Viktoria Fink (3.51 kills/set; 4th in NEC), sophomore
Amanda Hubbard (7.29 assists/set; 5th in NEC), Rivera (5.34 digs/set; t-2nd in NEC, 23rd in NCAA), sophomore
Filippa Hansson (.271 hitting percentage; 7th in NEC; 0.25 service aces/set), and sophomore
Katharina Krepper (1.03 blocks/set; 2nd in NEC).
THE CHAMPIONSHIP FIELD
No. 2 Bryant
Record: 21-11 (11-3 NEC)
Head-To-Head: Defeated LIU 2-3 on September 23; Lost to LIU 3-1 on October 28
Player to Watch: Kirstyn Sperry - top ten in NEC in assists (6.36/set; 7th) and service aces (0.33/set; 4th)
No. 3 Central Connecticut
Record: 18-7 (11-3 NEC)
Head-To-Head: Lost To LIU 3-2 on September 22; Lost to LIU 3-1 on October 27
Player to Watch: Maddie Smith - league leader in hitting percentage (.399) and blocks (1.46/set)
No. 4 Robert Morris
Record: 14-16 (8-6 NEC)
Head-To-Head: Lost to LIU 3-2 on October 6; Defeated LIU 3-1 on October 20
Player to Watch: Emma Granger - second in NEC in hitting percentage (.339), first in service aces (0.55), and ninth in kills (2.90/set)
TO THE VICTORS GO THE NCAAS
The eventual champions of the NEC Tournament will find out their fate during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on Sunday, November 26 at 9 p.m. ET.