Volleyball Sweeps St. Francis (Pa.), 3-0; Clinches Northeast Conference Regular Season Championship

(boxscore)

11/11/06 -- The Long Island University volleyball team completed its perfect run through the Northeast Conference with a 3-0 (30-19, 30-23, 30-27) win over Saint Francis (Pa.) on Saturday afternoon at the Wellness, Recreation and Athletic Center. The win clinched the NEC regular season championship and secured the Blackbirds as hosts of the NEC Tournament. Long Island finished its conference slate with an 8-0 record and did not lose a single game in those eight matches.

Martina Wagner (Friedrichshafen, Germany) led the way for the Blackbirds, registering 16 kills. The junior added nine digs and four aces. Freshman Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) had a team-high 14 digs for Long Island. Junior Shelby Heggie (Laramie, Wyo.) also turned in a fine performance with 10 kills and three digs. Classmate Toni Perhat (Roviny, Croatia) tallied 10 digs.

The Blackbirds took game one by a 30-19 margin. In a tight second game, Long Island took a 9-6 lead and then scored the next four points to extend its edge to seven points. The Blackbirds would hold on to take game two, 30-23.

Saint Francis (18-13, 6-1 NEC) took an 8-3 lead in the third game. The Blackbirds (22-10) battled back and tied the game at 15. LIU built a three-point lead at 19-16, but Saint Francis hung around and cut its deficit to one point at 21-20. The Blackbirds went on a 7-1 run, but the Red Flash refused to yield. Saint Francis whittled the Blackbird lead to 28-26, but LIU held on to win 30-27.

The victory marked the second consecutive regular season championship for the Blackbirds, who will try for their third NEC tournament title in a row when Long Island hosts the event on Nov. 18-19.

Long Island outhit Saint Francis by a 42-40 margin and hit .261 as a team. The Red Flash hit .171 for the match and were led by Anne Roosevelt’s 20 kills.

The Blackbirds will close out their regular season later today when they host Syracuse at 2:00 p.m.