Volleyball improves to 10-4 on season; Goes 2-1 at the Pitt Classic

(vs. Dayton) / (vs. Pitt) / (vs. Southern Illinois)

9/25-26/2004 -- Long Island University defeated Southern Illinois and Dayton but fell to Pittsburgh to finish third at the Pittsburgh Classic this weekend.

LIU on Friday defeated Dayton 3-1 (30-28, 17-30, 30-26, 30-28). Senior Cristina Pintilie (Cluj Napoca, Romania) and junior Melanie Fleig (Villingen, Germany) each pounded a team-high 15 kills. Pintilie also paced the Blackbirds with four blocks. Senior Ivana Vasiljevic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina) had a team-high 48 assists.

The Blackbirds dropped their first match Saturday to Pittsburgh (19-30, 30-28, 25-30, 28-30). LIU got another solid performance from Pintilie, who registered 28 kills. Sophomore Dana Demayo (Ra’anana, Israel) chipped in a team-high 17 digs to go along with nine kills. Vasiljevic had 34 assists and freshman Raven Nolan (Anchorage, Alaska) paced the Blackbirds with five blocks.

In the third and final match of the tournament, LIU rolled over Southern Illinois (30-19, 30-23, 26-30, 30-22). Vasiljevic was a force once again, leading the team with 47 assists. Pintilie had a strong defensive outing, closing with a team-best seven blocks. Demayo led the Blackbirds with 19 kills and 24 digs.

Pintilie was named to the Pitt Classic All-Tournament team. She finished the tournament with 50 kills, 14 blocks and 39 digs.

The Blackbirds return to action next weekend when they will compete in the Hawks Challenge in Princess Anne, Md. They will face Delaware State at 3:00 and St. John’s at 7:00 on Friday. On Saturday they will battle Niagara at 11:00 am and Maryland Eastern Shore at 5:00 pm.