The LIU women’s volleyball team grabbed its lucky 13th conference title earlier this month as well as a trip to the NCAA Tournament. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics
The Long Island University women’s volleyball team lost its six games in a row to start this season and 13 of its first 14 contests overall.
Now, the resilient Sharks are NCAA Tournament-bound!
After grabbing the fourth and final seed in the Northeast Conference Tournament earlier this month, the Sharks went on an historic run, stunning top-seeded Sacred Heart before rolling through No. 2 Fairleigh Dickinson to grab their record 13th league title.
Led by NEC Tournament Most Valuable Player Camelia Melendez, a junior outside hitter who spent two seasons on Remsen Street playing for the now-defunct St. Francis Brooklyn women’s volleyball program, LIU found out Sunday it would face top-seeded Nebraska in its NCAA opener.
The Sharks (13-18, 9-5 NEC) will be in Lincoln, Nebraska for an 8 p.m. match against the Cornhuskers (28-1, 19-1 Big Ten) in the first-ever meeting between the programs.
First-year LIU coach Amable Martinez arrived at LIU after a four-year stint at SFC Brooklyn. He inherited a program that had already captured a dozen conference crowns before delivering the Sharks’ first since 2017.
Melendez racked up a team-high 33 kills in two matches during the NEC Tournament.
She helped the Sharks get past Sacred Heart, 25-22, 31-29, 14-25 and 25-22 in a semifinal upset on Nov. 17. LIU also needed just four sets to dispense FDU, 25-20, 21-25, 25-14 and 25-13.
Fellow NEC First-Team selection Amaris Smith and NEC Defensive Player of the Year Alasha Colon joined Melendez on the All-NEC Tournament squad.
Outright Big Ten champions, the Huskers won their first 27 matches before falling at No. 5 Wisconsin last Friday before rebounding with a four-set win at Minnesota on Saturday.
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