BROOKLYN, N.Y. --- LIU Brooklyn Volleyball will travel on its final out-of-state road trip this weekend as the team heads to North Carolina for a trio of matches. The Blackbirds will face UNC and LSU as part of the Tar Heel Classic from September 8-9 in Chapel Hill, N.C. and end the trip with a solo match at NC State on September 10, in Raleigh, N.C.
SCHEDULE
Friday
UNC | 3:30 p.m.
Saturday
LSU | 3 p.m.
Sunday
NC State | 2 p.m.
BLACKBIRD OUTLOOK
LIU currently sits at 4-3 on the season after competing in a pair of road invitationals. Last weekend at the George Washington Invitational in D.C., the Blackbirds went 1-2, beating the host Colonials in between defeats to Hofstra and Indiana. Pacing the team statistically are junior Viktoria Fink (70 kills; 3.18/set), freshman Piper Matsumoto (156 assists; 6.24/set), redshirt sophomore Julia Azevedo (26.0 total blocks), and sophomore Natalia Rivera (157 digs; 5.61/set).
RIVERA ON A ROLL
Rivera repeated as Molten\NEC Defensive Player of the Week and was named to the GW Invitational All-Tournament team for her efforts last weekend. The native of Cayey, Puerto Rico improved on the production that earned her the season's first NEC defensive honor the weekend prior (69 digs, 4.93/set in four matches), recording 19 more digs (88 digs, 6.29/set) in one fewer match. Against host GW and Hofstra, Rivera put together the NEC's two highest dig totals of the early season - 40 in a 3-2 win over the host Colonials and 34 in a five-set loss to the Pride. She also led all players with 14 digs in a four-set loss to Indiana.
THE OPPONENTS
UNC
Record: 0-4
All-Time Series: 0-1 UNC
Stats Leaders: Redshirt junior Leath Taylor (2.69 kills/set), redshirt freshman Holly Carlton (6.85 assists/set), sophomore Mia Fradenburg (4.46 digs/set)
LSU
Record: 6-0
All-Time Series: 0-1 LSU
Stats Leaders: Senior Gina Tillis (50 kills; 3.44 kills/set), sophomore Anna Zwiebel (8.09 assists/set), freshman Raigen Cianciulli (3.55 digs/set)
NC State
Record: 0-5
All-Time Series: 0-1 NCSU
Stats Leaders: Freshman Melissa Evans (3.68 kills/set), junior Kylie Pickrell (7.91 assists/set), redshirt sophomore Makenzie Kuchmaner (4.00 digs/set)
NEXT UP
LIU will play its home opener on Friday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. against Marist College as part of the week's Big Apple Battle. The Blackbirds will also face Fordham on the road on Saturday, September 23 at 4 p.m. and host Columbia on Sunday, September 17 at 4 p.m. in Brooklyn.