Somerset, NJ -- LIU Brooklyn is coming off a dominant three-year run in Northeast Conference women’s volleyball, and if the league’s head coaches are accurate, a fourth consecutive NEC Tournament title is a strong possibility.  The Blackbirds were unanimously selected to repeat, earning seven first place votes in the annual poll.  Coaches were not permitted to vote for their own team.

LIU has posted an impressive 73-23 overall record since 2012, during which the Blackbirds have gone undefeated NEC regular season play (44-0) and a perfect 6-0 in the last three NEC Tournaments. LIU will be looking for the program’s tenth NEC Tournament crown, this time under the direction of new head coach Ken Ko, who comes to Brooklyn following a five-year associate head coaching stint at the University of San Francisco.

Central Connecticut, which made its 12th appearance in the NEC Tournament last season, earned the second spot in the poll. Robert Morris was tabbed third while Saint Francis U took the fourth spot.

Bryant was slotted fifth, Sacred Heart sixth, and Fairleigh Dickinson and St. Francis Brooklyn rounded out the 2015 preseason poll in the seventh and eighth positions.

The 2015 NEC Championship will take place on November 21 and 22 at the campus of the top seeded team. The top four finishers, based on Conference winning percentage, will compete in a two-day, single elimination tournament.

All eight teams will start their seasons on Friday, August 28 competing in various two-day tournaments. LIU Brooklyn begins its rigorous non-league slate at the Hokie Invitational hosted by Virginia Tech.  Also on the non-conference schedule for the Blackbirds are early season home matchups with No. 13 Oregon, No. 14 Ohio State and No. 17 Arizona.  A year ago, LIU knocked off No. 25 Michigan State, and also defeated Alabama, Fresno State and Boston College.

LIU Brooklyn has been the team to beat in the conference for the last decade plus, winning nine NEC Tournament titles in the past 11 years. Looking to continue the extraordinary run, the Blackbirds will turn to senior libero Adriana Vin~as Joy (San Juan, Puerto Rico/Colegio Marista). Vin~as Joy made history last season by winning the NEC Libero of the Year honor for the third consecutive season. She also led the team with 536 total digs and ranked third in the NEC with 4.66 digs per set.

The Blackbirds also return three-time first team All-NEC senior outside hitter Tamara Ignjic (Belgrade, Serbia/First Economic). Ignjic started all 32 matches, led the league in kills per set (4.19) and posted an NEC-high 478 total kills.

The Blue Devils are looking to make their thirteenth consecutive NEC Tournament appearance under CCSU’s all-time winningest coach, Linda Sagnelli.  Sagnelli has recorded 250 wins in the past 15 seasons as Blue Devil head coach.

CCSU returns to its lineup senior setter and two-time first team All-NEC honoree Makenna Lommori (Yerington, NV/Yerington). Lommori ranked seventh in the conference in kills per set (3.02) and established a school record last season with 35 kills in a match against Sacred Heart. Senior outside hitter Heather Trueman (Chino Hills, CA/Chino Hills) also returns to the fold after leading the team with 3.24 kills per set.

Perennial contender Robert Morris brings back a trio of key players for the 2015 season.  Junior outside hitter Arden Fisher (Oakmont, PA/Riverview) earned second team All-NEC status last year after pacing the Colonials with 2.39 kills per set.  RMU also returns a pair of middle blockers, senior Kristin Thompson (Monroe, Ohio/Bishop Fenwick) and junior April Krivoniak (Latrobe, PA/ Latrobe). Thompson finished third in the NEC in hitting percentage (.314) and fifth in blocks per set (1.08) en-route to second team All-NEC honors a year ago.  Krivoniak ranked third on RMU in total blocks (63) for the year.

Saint Francis U has the making of a contender with a number of top returnees back in the fold. Sophomore libero Jenna Veres (Independence, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) recorded 465 digs in her rookie season to set a new SFU record in the category.  She joins second team All-NEC picks Hannah Kutny (Clifton Park, NY/Catholic Central) and Breanna Opera (Lancaster, NY/Lancaster), who provide a strong one-two punch at outside hitter.  Kutny, a senior, ranked fifth in the NEC last season with 3.21 kills per set, while Opera, a junior, finished right behind in sixth with 3.15 kills per set.

Coming off a fourth place finish last season - its best at the Division I level - Bryant brings back senior libero Debora Magalhaes (Belo Horizonte, Brazil/Colegio Magnum Agostiniano), who earned second team All-NEC status in 2014. Magalhaes ranked first in the NEC in digs (660) and digs per set (5.20), and also finished 11th and 21st in the country in the two categories, respectively.

Sacred Heart sports a second team All-NEC selection in junior right side hitter Sarah Krufka (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro). Krufka placed third in the NEC in kills per game (3.44) and also tallied 50 blocks for the Pioneers.

Fairleigh Dickinson returns sophomore outside hitter Carly O’Sullivan (Bogota, NJ/ Bogota). In her rookie season O’Sullivan ranked eighth in the NEC in kills with 2.95 kills per game and finished with 10 double-doubles.

St. Francis Brooklyn brings back senior setter Kelly O’Halloran (Tallahassee, FL/Lincoln), who had a team high 541 assists also ranked seventh in the NEC with 5.82 per game.

About the Northeast Conference
Now in its 35th year, the Northeast Conference is an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic association consisting of 10 institutions of higher learning located throughout six states. Media coverage of the NEC extends to four of the largest markets in the United States - New York (#1), Pittsburgh (#23), Baltimore (#27), and Hartford/New Haven (#30).  Founded in 1981 as the basketball-only ECAC Metro Conference, the NEC has grown to sponsor 22 championship sports for men and women and now enjoys automatic access to 14 different NCAA Championships. NEC member institutions include Bryant, Central Connecticut, Fairleigh Dickinson, LIU Brooklyn, Mount St. Mary’s, Robert Morris, Sacred Heart, St. Francis Brooklyn, Saint Francis U and Wagner. For more information on the NEC, visit the league’s official website (www.northeastconference.org) and digital network (www.necfrontrow.com), or follow the league on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Google+, all @NECsports.