Volleyball Soars Past Cornell, 3-0, In First Round of NCAA Tourney

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12/2/05- The Long Island University Volleyball team downed Cornell University, 3-0, Friday evening in the first round of NCAA play. Sophomore Martina Wagner (Friedrichshafen, Germany) led the Blackbirds (26- 13) with a double-double, posting 18 kills and 15 digs.

Following Wagner was Northeast Conference Player of the Year, Lizelle Jackson (Palmdale, Calif.), tallying her 24th double-double of the season with 16 kills and 21 digs. Senior Jade Gold registered 15 kills and four blocks. Classmate Ivana Vasiljevic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina) recorded 45 assists.

Cornell’s Amy Gordon dished out 23 assists and three players collected 10 kills apiece.

LIU took on the Big Red before a small but lively crowd of Blackbird fans. In game one, the teams were neck and neck. Each point won was countered with another. The contest produced 16 ties with neither team leading by more than two points. Wagner paced the team with seven kills, including two key aces. She recorded seven digs and was responsible for 9.5 points. Vasiljevic notched 19 assists.

The second stanza started out much like the first with the team battling for the lead. LIU built a five-point advantage (19-14) following a kill from Gold and continued to roll past Cornell 30-24, taking the second game. A litany of Big Red errors gave Long Island 16 points.

Cornell battled back in the third frame, jumping out to a 3-1 head start. Jackson tied the game at 4-4. The Big Red responded with a 3-0 run, extending their lead to 7-4. Errors continued to plague Cornell. An attacking error by Rachel Adomat tied the game at 7-7. The Blackbirds had a 6-1 spurt pushing them to a 19-14 advantage capped off by a kill from Wagner. A stubborn Cornell would not go away forcing four match points. The Blackbirds held on, taking the game and match 35-33 with an ace from Jackson. The win marks the first time a NEC team has advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Long Island continues its historic journey on Saturday facing host Penn State at 7:00 pm.

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