Volleyball Earns Regional Ranking For the First Time

11/23/04 -- Long Island University’s volleyball squad, coming off its first Northeast Conference championship, has earned a regional ranking for the first time in school history according to the latest RichKern.com/America Volleyball Coaches Association Division I Poll.

The Blackbirds (32-6, 7-1 NEC) are ranked No. 15 in the Mideast Region according to the rankings release November 22. They earned their place by virtue of defeating Robert Morris on Sunday, 3-0 (30-24, 30-26, 30-26), to garner their first trip to the NCAA Tournament. The selection show will be televised Sunday at 6:40 pm on ESPNews and the first round of the NCAA Tournament takes place between December 2-4.

LIU, ranked a team-high No. 111 according to the latest RichKern.com poll, this season broke the school record for victories and extended its team-best winning streak Sunday to 11 matches. It recorded a 3-1 triumph September 24 over Dayton, ranked No. 86, and hung tough with 73rd-ranked Pittsburgh the following day in a 3-1 setback.

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. The three-time All-NEC pick and last season’s NEC Player of the Year closed with 11 kills, nine digs and four blocks in the final.

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. 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.