Sharks’ title hunt continues in NCAAs

LIU women's volleyballers to meet No. 1 Nebraska on Friday

November 28, 2023 John Torenli, Sports Editor Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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

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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.

The Sharks react Sunday after finding out they will meet No. 1 Nebraska Friday night in the opening round of the NCAA women’s volleyball tournament. Photo courtesy of LIU Athletics

The Sharks will take on host Nebraska in the night match after Delaware meets Missouri in the opener.

The opening-round winners will meet in Saturday’s second-round showdown at 8 p.m.

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The LIU men’s basketball team earned a split of its weekend participation in the NKU Thanksgiving Tournament in Highland Heights, Kentucky.

Freshman sensation and East New York native Eric Acker earned NEC Prime Performer honors for helping the Sharks (1-5) to their first win of the year Friday, scoring a season-high 22 points in an 83-68 win over Texas A&M/Corpus Christi.

Acker, who put up 20 points in LIU’s loss at Columbia last week, made 8-of-14 shots from the floor, including 4-of-8 from 3-point range. The high-flying guard also grabbed nine rebounds and handed out four assists in a team-high 37 minutes.

The Sharks fell to host Northern Kentucky, 72-64, on Saturday despite 18 points from graduate student guard Tai Strickland, son of LIU coach and New York basketball icon Rod Strickland.

LIU will return to the hardwood in Miami Saturday evening at Florida International.

Sophomore guard Mariah Elohim scored a team-high 19 points and senior backcourt mate Ashley Austin added 16 on 7-of-10 shooting Saturday as the LIU ladies got off the schneid with a 60-53 triumph over visiting Hampton in front of 140 fans at Downtown’s Steinberg Wellness Center.

Though she only went 2-of-10 from beyond the arc, Elohim buried 9-of-10 free throws, including a series of shots from the charity stripe down the stretch to seal the win for the Sharks, who lost their first five games.

LIU will shoot for its first back-to-back wins of the young campaign Thursday night against visiting Saint Peter’s. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.

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In local Division III hoops action, the three-time defending CUNYAC champion Brooklyn College women’s team came up just short in its bid for a third consecutive win Monday night.

Junior guard Alina Estrella scored a season-high 20 points, but the Bulldogs suffered a 60-58 setback to Centenary at the John M. Reeves Student Recreation Center in Hackettstown, N.J.

Senior Ericka James added 13 points for BC (3-2), which will officially begin defense of its conference crown Friday at 5 p.m. against visiting John Jay College at the West Quad Center in a rematch of last year’s CUNYAC title game.

Alina Estrella put up 20 points, but Brooklyn College was unable to get past Centenary Monday night in Hackettstown, N.J. Photo courtesy of BC Athletics

The BC men remained winless with Monday’s 82-55 loss to visiting Ramapo.

Mekhi Barlow finished with nine points and fellow juniors Malik Dale and David McFadden added eight apiece for the Bulldogs (0-7), who also host John Jay College Friday following the women’s game.