An NCAA tournament victory has again eluded the Long Island University women’s volleyball team.
The Blackbirds won a third-straight Northeast Conference title and ninth in the 11 years before dropping a hard fought 25–23, 25–19, 25–18 match to host UCLA in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament on Dec. 6.
It is the second time in three years Long Island University has fallen to the Bruins in the first game. Tamara Ignjic and Annika Foit combined for 19 kills and 15 digs and Veraa Djuric chipped in 24 assists for the Blackbirds.
Long Island University went toe-to-toe with No. 12-seeded UCLA in the first set. The Blackbirds trailed just 23–22 after a kill from Ignjic, a kill from Nicole Okeke and a block from Djuric and Okeke. A UCLA attack that went long cut the margin to just one. The Bruins, following a time out, scored the next two points to close out the set.
UCLA took the second set, but the Blackbirds put one final scare into the favored Pac-12 team in the third. Long Island University led 15–11 thanks to a key service aces from Mirjana Rajic and Adriana Viñas Joy. The advantage was short lived as the Bruins retook control of the set by scoring nine points straight.
The defeat ends a season that again saw the Blackbirds dominate the Northeast Conference. LIU went undefeated in league play and earned the program’s first win over a nationally ranked opponent when the Blackbirds took down then-No. 25 Michigan State on September 19.
The Blackbirds went 25–7 overall and beat Robert Morris in straight sets, 25–20, 25–16, 25–15, to claim the conference title behind Djuric, the tournament most valuable player. Long Island University loses just four players from this squad and it looks to continue its success next season.
