By John Torenli
The title-hungry competitors of the Long Island University women’s volleyball team once again established themselves as “Legends of the Fall” over the weekend at Downtown’s Wellness Center.
Guided by second-year coach Kyle Robinson and paced by sophomore Ashley Rice, the dynastic Blackbirds captured their sixth consecutive Northeast Conference championship Sunday afternoon with a straight-set (25-17, 25-20, 25-21) triumph over second-seeded Sacred Heart.
“I’m excited for them,” Robinson told the Eagle yesterday. “It was really fun as a coach to see them grow and really get better and go to new heights as the season went on. They were excited about seeing themselves get better and getting closer to winning another championship.”
Rice, who arrived in Brooklyn via Marlton, N.J., last year, racked up eight kills, eight blocks and hit at a .571 rate en route to being named the annual tournament’s Most Valuable Player.
“It was huge,” Robinson said of Rice’s effort. “More importantly, it was huge for our freshmen to see what they can be in a year. Ashley came in extremely raw and worked her tail off. It was huge for our underclassmen to excel as they did.”
Top-seeded LIU, which improved to 21-13 overall this season, will get some well-deserved rest before Sunday’s NCAA Tournament selection show, to be televised on ESPNews at 3 p.m. Robinson and his perennial champions will be glued to the screen.
“We’re going to practice Saturday night and Sunday and sit around and watch the show as a team,” he revealed.
Despite the monster effort from Rice, NEC Player of the Year Svetlana Simic quite appropriately capped the Blackbirds’ run for Title VI, recording back-to-back kills to close out the final set to send the partisan crowd of 385 into celebration.
Simic finished with a team-high 12 kills and nine digs while fellow senior Martina Racic tallied 11 kills, eight blocks and seven digs. Senior Dunja Milin joined Rice on the NEC All-Tournament Team with 29 assists and eight digs.
Sophomore Chelsey Stanton had 14 digs for LIU, which advanced to the Finals with a straight-set victory over Robert Morris on Saturday.
Dating to a dropped second set to St. Francis, Pa., on Nov. 7, the Blackbirds have won 17 consecutive sets over their last six matches, extending their overall winning streak to 12 since dropping three sets at Hofstra on Oct. 13.
They hope that run continues against the best of the NCAA.
“I think we’ll always be right there in the fight,” said Robinson. “Especially with us getting better toward the end of the season. The girls are peaking. We have a solid chance. I have a lot of faith in our girls. We respect the other competition and the other teams in the [NCAA] tournament, but we have high expectations for ourselves.”
While the volleyball team was basking in the glory of yet another championship, coach Jim Ferry’s men’s basketball squad got in the win column with an impressive 83-72 victory over Navy on Saturday at the Wellness Center.
Junior David Hicks led a well-balanced attack for the Blackbirds (1-2), who shook off a season-opening two game losing streak by leading from start to finish against the Midshipmen (1-3).
Hicks poured in a career high-tying 18 points and grabbed a personal-best 10 rebounds. But he certainly wasn’t alone in sending Navy back to Annapolis with a loss.
Fellow junior Kyle Johnson scored 16 points, senior Jaytornah Wisseh had 14 and freshman sensation Kenny Onyechi added a career-best 13 to nab NEC Rookie of the Week honors.
Wisseh, a former Banneker Academy star, also handed out a game-high seven assists for LIU, which was scheduled to host Saint Peter’s last night on Freshman Spirit Night at the WRAC.
Unfortunately, Downtown’s other Division I men’s team, the winless St. Francis Terriers, fell to 0-3 with a 79-69 defeat to visiting Canisius at the Pope Center on Saturday afternoon.
Sophomore guard Ricky Cadell scored 22 points and junior Akeem Bennett added 21 points, six rebounds and four assists for the Terriers, who visited the University of Massachusetts last night.
On the women’s side, LIU (1-2) picked up its first win of the young season with a come-from-behind 71-66 victory at Howard in Washington, D.C., on Saturday.
Junior Connie James scored a team-high 19 points for LIU, including a pair of crucial baskets down the stretch and two clutch free throws.
Sophomore Ashley Palmer added 16 points and six boards for LIU, which was getting ready for yesterday’s visit from Maryland-Eastern Shore.
The St. Francis women fell to 0-3 Monday night with a 70-49 loss at Albany.
Freshman standout Autumn Lau resumed her outstanding early season play by scoring 15 points and grabbing 16 rebounds for the Terriers, who will host Fairfield at the Pope Center on Thanksgiving Eve at 5 p.m.
In local college recruiting news, LIU head softball coach Roy
Kortmann announced the signing of three standout recruits to join the
Blackbirds for the 2011 season.
Nichole Toven of Sylmar, Calif., Heather White of Winter Park, Fla. and Madison Zymkowitz of Chaminade, Calif., all signed National Letters-of-Intent to play in Downtown Brooklyn next year.
The Blackbirds went 33-17 this past season to capture the NEC regular-season title, but failed to reach the NCAA Tournament.
Former Brooklyn Friends School hoops star Jamal Davis earned All-Tournament honors for Middlebury College in Vermont over the weekend, helping the Panthers improve to 2-0 with a 55-42 win over Haverford.
The Blue Pride alum, in his third season at Middlebury, scored 15 points on 7-of-15 shooting with seven rebounds.
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