Volleyball pulls off heartstopping 3-2 victory over Seton Hall

(boxscore)

10/27/04 -- Four players recorded double-doubles as Long Island won for the 17th time in its last 20 matches, a heartstopping 3-2 triumph (30-28, 27-30, 26-30, 30-22, 15-5) over Seton Hall at Schwartz Center.

The Blackbirds (23-6) recorded a .444 hitting percentage in the final game with nine kills and just one error. Junior Adela Igniska (Baia Mare, Romania) played a huge role with two kills and an ace in that game. Senior Cristina Pintilie (Cluj Napoca, Romania) and sophomore Dana Demayo (Ra’anana, Israel) added two kills apiece.

LIU won the final three points of the match, ending it when juniors Melanie Fleig (Villingen, Germany) and Jade Gold (Jupiter, Fla.) had a block assist off an attack from Amber Davis.

The Pirates registered four kills and four errors in game five.

The Blackbirds’ initial boost came in game one, when they closed on a 12-3 run to overcome a 25-18 deficit. Pintilie, Fleig and Demayo each contributed two kills in that stretch and senior Ivana Vasiljevic (Brcko, Bosnia & Herzegovina) added two aces.

Vasiljevic ended with 50 assists and 16 digs for her 66th career match with at least a double-double. Demayo played solidly with 17 kills and 13 digs, Pintilie notched 16 and 10 with a .424 hitting percentage and junior Lizelle Jackson (Palmdale, Calif.) had 13 kills with 16 digs.

Igniska totaled 12 digs for the Blackbirds, who are 6-0 at home this season. The six straight home victories are one shy of tying the LIU mark set in 2002.

Alex Dyer pounded 17 kills with Shawn McDonald notching 50 assists and 21 digs for the Pirates (7-19). Jessica King had 16 kills, Davis posted 11 and Jessica Pompei recorded 17 digs.

LIU resumes Northeast Conference action Saturday against Fairleigh Dickinson in the second match of a five-match homestand. First serve is at 1:00 pm.