Volleyball Will Face No. 4 Seed Minnesota in First Round of NCAA Tournament

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11/28/04 -- Long Island University, coming off its first Northeast Conference championship, will face fourth-seeded and fourth-ranked Minnesota in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, December 2 in New Haven, Conn.

The match will take place at 5:30 pm on the campus of Yale University followed by Albany against the host at 7:30 pm. The winners will play in the second round Friday at 7:00 pm.

LIU (32-6, 7-1 NEC) clinched its spot after upending five-time defending champion Robert Morris, 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-26) on November 21 in Moon Township, Pa. for its first NCAA Tournament berth. The Blackbirds previously advanced to the NEC final in 2002 and reached the semifinals last season.

The berth comes days after LIU earned a regional ranking for the first time according to the latest RichKern.com/America Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division I Poll. The No. 15 ranking in the Mideast Region was due in large part to a 3-1 triumph September 24 over 86th-ranked Dayton and a tough 3-1 loss with 73rd-ranked Pittsburgh the following day along with the conference title.

Senior middle blocker Cristina Pintilie (Cluj Napoca, Romania) was named the NEC Tournament’s Most Valuable Player after finishing with 24 kills, 19 digs and 7 1/2 blocks over two matches. The three-time All-NEC pick and last season’s NEC Player of the Year leads the league with 4.07 kills per game and 5.06 points per game, and is third with a .361 hitting percentage.

Senior setter Ivana Vasiljevic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina) also has been a major part of the offense, dishing 11.26 assists per game to place third in the NEC and also has 3.08 digs per game. Vasiljevic, who recorded 71 assists in the tournament, has been named All-NEC each of the last three seasons.

Sophomore outside hitter Dana Demayo (Ra’anana, Israel), who holds the Blackbirds’ single-season digs record with 577, was selected first team All-NEC and is third in the league with 4.21 digs per game. Junior outside hitter Melanie Fleig (Villingen, Germany) is sixth in the NEC with a .258 hitting percentage and was tabbed second team all-league.

LIU is ranked 22nd in the nation with an .842 winning percentage, 23rd with a .268 hitting percentage and 25 with 2.07 aces per game according to the NCAA statistics released November 22.