Box Score

STATE COLLEGE, PA -- The LIU Brooklyn volleyball team played one of its best matches of the year Friday night in State College, Pa., against one of the best teams in the nation, in front of a home crowd of over 1,600 fans. Facing No.2 overall seed Penn State (28-2 overall, 19-1 Big Ten), the Blackbirds didn't even blink, giving the Nittany Lions one of their tougher three set wins of the year. In the end, the host team took the win to advance, 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-14). Penn State will face Utah in the second round match Saturday.

The loss came in three sets, but the Blackbirds proved they belonged hitting with the big teams, taking 21 points off of the Nittany Lions in both set one and two. That was more points than Florida (18 & 17), Louisville (15 & 16), Ohio State (12 & 14), Minnesota (20 & 17), Indiana (16 & 11), Purdue (18 & 22), Michigan State (14 & 18), Iowa (8 & 8), Northwestern (17 & 15), Kentucky (10 & 8) Eastern Kentucky (10 & 8), Marquette (17 & 12), Syracuse (16 & 15) and Yale (16 & 17) scored against Penn State this season in the first two sets.

The Blackbirds impressed Penn State's Hall Of Fame Coach, Russ Rose.

"I like Long Island's team," Rose said in the postgame press conference. "They play hard; there's a reason that they had the season that they had. Their kids play hard and they compete and they don't get rattled. Maybe it got away from them a little bit in the third game, but certainly the first two games were very close. They were competing and doing what they do at a high level."

The Nittany Lions came out in front of their home crowd and took an early lead, with a service ace on the first play of the game, and followed that up with an LIU error, to go up, 2-0. But the Blackbirds shook off the nerves, and a solo block by junior Vera Djuric got LIU on the board. Sophomore Tamara Ignjic followed that up with a kill, to tie the first set up, 2-2. LIU had its first lead of the match on a setting error by PSU, 3-2, and eventually widened the gap to two points, when Annika Foit had a kill to the back line to go up, 5-3.

Penn State eventually rallied back to tie it up, 7-7, before LIU went on a 3-0 run. Mirjana Rajic teamed up for a block to go up, 8-7, and Rice and Foit had a block on the next play, 9-7. On the next play, Foit tipped the ball off a PSU blocker, to give the Blackbirds a 10-7, their widest of the set. Penn State came back and went on a 9-1 run, to take control and go up, 17-12. But the Blackbirds fought back. A kill from sophomore Nicole Okeke made it 20-18, and a few plays later, Foit had a kill to make it 22-20.  LIU would score once more before the end of the set, but the home team took set one, 25-21.

The second set started in a similar fashion with Penn State taking an early 2-1 lead. Okeke had a tip past the PSU blockers to tie it up, 2-2, and the battle waged on from there. The score would be tied nine times in the set. Rajic had one of those, when she notched a kill to tie it at 3-3. From there, a block by Foit and Rice, and a PSU error helped LIU go up, 5-3. The Nittany Lions came back to tie it at 5, but Foit had another kill to give the Blackbirds the advantage. Two plays later, Rice gave LIU the 7-6 edge with a kill. But PSU rallied to retake the lead, and after a small 4-0 run, went up 12-8. LIU would continue to stay close, tying the score up again at 14-14 and then again at 17 all. A kill by Ignjic would close the lead again to 22-20, but the Nittany Lions had a block and a kill to earn set point, and LIU hit the ball long on the next play, to end the set, 25-21 in favor of PSU.  

The third set was a struggle for the Blackbirds. Early on, the score was close once again. Ignjic had a kill to help LIU go up, 3-2, and another Ignjic kill made it 4-3. But the Nittany Lions went on a run to go up, 10-5. Rice had a strong kill to keep LIU in play, 10-6, but the energy from the first two sets had taken a toll on the squad. Penn Stat capitalized, landing well placed kills, and managing to block LIU's attacks. A late 5-0 run by the Nittany Lions made it 23-12, the widest lead of the day. Rice would land another kill, and the Blackbirds tried to stay in it, but a service ace from PSU senior Maggie Harding ended the set, 25-14, and the match, 3-0.

"When we set out on this journey in the beginning, we always talk about playing the best," LIU Brooklyn head coach Kyle Robinson said after the match. "We had that opportunity today, and I think we gave them a heck of a match. I think we had one of the best seasons we have ever had as a program, and I thought that we had earned a little bit of a better draw, to maybe see Penn State in the second or third round. It is what it is and we have played some great matches this season.  Taking a set off of Oklahoma at their place and the same thing with the University of Florida, and going five with Tulsa prepared us for this. We came out and gave Penn State a heck of a match I thought.  Are we sad that this is over and we are going home? Of course, but we are going to take what they give us and fight and work for it and not hold our heads down about it." 

Junior Annika Foit led all players with 15 kills, including 12 in the first two sets. She also had seven digs and three blocks. In her last match with LIU, Jessica Rice had five blocks at the net, going block-for-block with Penn State All-American Katie Slay. Junior Vera Djuric had 29 assists, seven digs and three blocks, while sophomore Adriana Vinas Joy led the defense with 11 digs. Sophomore Tamara Ignjic had nine kills and five digs, while Nicole Okeke added two blocks and Mirjana Rajic had four kills and five digs.

LIU Brooklyn finishes the season 23-8 overall, and 14-0 in the Northeast Conference.