Volleyball Extends Win Streak to Four; Bests Sacred Heart in Three Games

(boxscore)

9/30/06 -- Led by 14 kills and 13 digs from junior Martina Wagner (Friedrichshafen, Germany), the Long Island University volleyball team won its fourth consecutive match with a 3-0 (30-23, 30-11, 30-24) win over Sacred Heart at the Blackbird Holiday Inn Express Challenge. Wagner registered her 12 double-double of the season and third in as many games.

Junior Shelby Heggie (Laramie, Wyo.) also reached double digits in the kill category, racking up 10. Freshman Svetlana Simic (Klek, Serbia) contributed 14 digs to lead the Blackbirds, who improved to 10-8.

Sacred Heart, coming off a 3-0 loss last night to South Dakota State, played the Blackbirds close in the first game. With the Pioneers leading 11-10, LIU rattled off five straight points with junior Lindsey Patty (Edmund, Okla.) serving and took the lead. Long Island would hold on to win the game, 30-23.

The Blackbirds controlled game two from the first serve, jumping out to a 15-3 lead. Long Island kept the throttle down and cruised to a 30-11 win. Game three was a bit tighter as LIU went to the bench to give the subs some action, but in the end the Blackbirds came out on top, 30-24, and secured the sweep of the Pioneers.

Long Island outhit Sacred Heart by a 46-27 margin. The Blackbirds hit .287 for the match, compared to Sacred Heart’s paltry .068.

Sacred Heart dropped its 14th-consecutive match, falling to 1-14 on the year.

The Blackbirds will take to the court to close out the tournament later today when they host South Dakota State in a match scheduled for 4:00 p.m.