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#2 LIU Brooklyn 3, #1 Sacred Heart 2
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Fairfield, CT – LIU Brooklyn is back on top.

The second-seeded Blackbirds outlasted regular season champion Sacred Heart in a five-set championship match to secure the program’s 10th NEC Volleyball tournament title.

It’s LIU Brooklyn’s conference crown in the past five years, but its first under the direction of head coach Ken Ko.  The Blackbirds and Pioneers have now combined to win 13 of the last 14 conference crowns.

LIU’s Alex Larsen (Cary, IL/Cary-Grove (Northern MI) earned the NEC Tournament MVP award after posting a double-double of 31 kills and 19 digs.
For Sacred Heart, Allison Riggs (Anaheim, CA/Orange Lutheran) registered 16 kills while Liisel Nelis (Kuressaare, Estonia) led the Pioneers with 19 digs.

Sacred Heart opened the match with a kill from Makayla Dole (Cypress, CA/Western High School). The rest of the first set was a back-and-forth affair, with LIU Brooklyn pressuring every Sacred Heart lead. The Pioneers accumulated a 23-20 point lead, but LIU Brooklyn tied it at 23-23. Sacred Heart earned the next point on a kill, but LIU Brooklyn tied it again. The Blackbirds then scored the next two points to take the first set. Jiayi Zhang (Beijing, China/Sandy Spring Friends School) led LIU Brooklyn with four kills. Dole had five kills for Sacred Heart.
 
The second set mirrored the first. LIU Brooklyn scored the first point, but the teams exchanged leads and kept the score close. The Blackbirds took the lead with their ninth point and stretched it to as much as four points, but Sacred Heart battled back to tie the set at 23-23. The Pioneers scored four points in a row to take the second set and tie the match.
 
The Pioneers started the third set off strong, scoring eight of the first nine points and scoring six unanswered to take the 8-1 lead. Riggs came up with the big kill that gave Sacred Heart the set 25-11 and the 2-1 lead in the match. Alex Larsen posted four kills for LIU Brooklyn in the set, while Sarah Krufka (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro) and Dole each had three for Sacred Heart.
 
Sacred Heart took the early lead in the fourth set, but the Blackbirds battled back to take the 5-3 advantage. LIU Brooklyn accrued a 16-9 lead, but the Pioneers eventually tied the score at 19-19. The teams then played evenly, exchanging points and set points. The Blackbirds prevailed and took the fourth set 27-25.
 
LIU Brooklyn took the lead early in the fifth set and led 8-4 at the halfway point. Down 12-8, the Pioneers battled back and tied the set at 12. From there, the teams exchanged points until they were knotted at 13. Sacred Heart took the lead for a match point, but the Blackbirds tied it and then had their opportunity for a match point. With the teams knotted at 17, LIU Brooklyn’s Zhang posted a huge kill, giving LIU Brooklyn another match point opportunity. The Blackbirds converted to take the fifth set 19-17.

NEC Women’s Volleyball All-Tournament Team
Alex Larsen (LIU), Tournament MVP
Fillippa Hansson (LIU)
Amanda Hubbard (LIU)
Allison Riggs (SHU)
Ana Gonzalez (SHU)
Rachel Fish (CCSU)
Vika Katzen (BRY)