Volleyball wins Chanticleer Classic with victories over Chattanooga and Coastal Carolina

(vs. Chattanooga) / (vs. Coastal Carolina)

9/18/04 -- Ivana Vasiljevic dished 49 assists in the first match and came back with 48 and 24 digs in the second as Long Island notched a pair of victories to win the Microtel Inn & Suites Chanticleer Classic in Conway, S.C.

The Blackbirds rolled to a 3-0 victory (30-20, 30-21, 30-28) against Chattanooga before a 3-1 triumph (30-18, 30-26, 28-30, 30-22) over host Coastal Carolina.

Vasiljevic was on a tear in both matches, also closing with 12 digs and a .400 hitting percentage with no errors against Chattanooga (0-9).

Junior Lizelle Jackson (Palmdale, Calif.) closed with 17 kills and 17 digs, sophomore Dana Demayo (Ra'anana, Israel) contributed 11 and 20 with senior Cristina Pintilie (Cluj Napoca, Romania) adding 11 and 10.

LIU (8-3) grabbed control in game two with a .450 hitting percentage and 21 kills. Chattanooga ended with just 10 kills and a .189 percentage.

Vasiljevic against Coastal Carolina fell six digs shy of her career best and added five kills. Pintilie pounded 20 kills with just one error over 42 attacks for a .452 hitting percentage to help the Blackbirds hit .240.

Demayo continued her stellar play with 17 kills and 17 digs as did Jackson, who finished with 15 and 17.

Pintilie was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after closing with 53 kills and 17 digs. Demayo and Jackson also were named to the all-tournament team.

The Blackbirds rolled to a 68-54 kills edge for their fourth victory in six matches. LIU won the tiebreaker with Coastal Carolina to capture the tournament as both teams went 2-1.

LIU heads to the Pitt Classic next week, beginning Friday against Dayton at 4:30 pm.