FAIRFIELD, CONN. — The LIU women's volleyball team traveled to traveled to take on one seed Sacred Heart in the NEC Championship semifinals.
The match was an absolute battle and the Sharks came out with the upset in four sets 25-22, 31-29, 14-25, 25-22.
The first set was completely back and forth with neither team able to completely grab control. That was until Rumur Rouille, Camelia Melendez and Sibana Gonzalez rattled off consecutive points to give LIU a four-point lead. Melendez finished the set off with a kill to give the Sharks a 1-0 lead.
The second set was arguably the best set the Sharks played all year and it was an absolute thriller. LIU trailed 10-4 until they stormed back with eight straight points to grab a 12-10 lead. From there the Sharks and Pioneers were locked into another battle. Every time LIU got a point, Sacred Heart would respond. It went that way until the set was tied at 29. The Sharks kept rallying and forced the Pioneers to make mistakes and two errors from Sacred Heart gave LIU a 31-29 set win and a commanding 2-0 lead.
Sacred Heart dominated the third set, but the Sharks did not lose their focus. The fourth was once again a crazy back and forth set. The set was tied at 10 and then the Sharks rattled off six straight points to take a commanding lead. Sacred Heart would keep on fighting, getting the set within two points but that was the closest the Pioneers would get. Solid defense forced another Sacred Heart attack error and the Sharks took home the win.
All-NEC first team selection Camelia Melendez was the best player on the floor for LIU. She recorded a team-high 18 kills while also tallying three digs and a service ace.
Cristal Paulino Rubel recorded seven kills on seven attempts while first-team selection Amaris Smith also tallied seven.
Selina Koç led LIU with 33 assists.
Defensive player of the year Alasha Colon had a game-high 18 digs while also adding a kill and three assists.
The Sharks recorded an astonishing 20 blocks as a team. All-NEC second team selection Rumur Rouille and Bria Plante led the charge with six a piece. They were followed by Smith (2.5) and Koç (2).
LIU will return to the court Saturday at 6 p.m. when they take on FDU in the NEC Championship.
