Box Score
 
BROOKLYN, NY—The NJIT women's volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to Long Island Brooklyn Friday afternoon in the opening round of the 2012 Blackbird Invitational.
 
The Highlanders who suffer its second straight loss falls to 5-7 on the season while the Blackbirds improve to 6-5 on the season.
 
The Blackbirds defeated the Highlanders 25-10, 25-17, 15-25, 25-15 led by Ashley Rice, who put together a strong performance hitting an impressive .652 with 15 kills, 0 errors on 23 attempts.  Rice also added a match-high six block assists.  Annika Poit notched a match-high 16 kills and added four block assists for the home team.
 
Setter Vera Djuric added a match-high 39 assists while Tamara Ignjic posted a team-high 13 digs. 
 
LIU Brooklyn held an 11-4 service ace advantage led by Foit's match-high six aces.
 
For the Highlanders, sophomore Cathy Leung posted nine kills while freshman Danica Vukotic hit a team-best .455 with seven kills, two errors on 11 attempts.
 
NJIT setter Anna Mercado registered 18 digs while libero Renata Pandolfo posted a match-high 18 digs. 
 
The match got off to a quick start for the Blackbirds, as LIU went up 4-1, and then used a 5-0 run to take a 9-2 lead over NJIT. The Highlanders were able to gain a couple of points, but the Blackbirds used 4-0 runs and a string of five straight points to take the lead and close out the first set, 25-10.
 
The second set started much the same as the first, as consecutive kills by LIU Brooklyn made it 5-1 in favor of the home team. NJIT began to close the lead, and brought it to 12-9, before a kill from Foit and two straight blocks from Foit and Ashley Rice made it 15-9. The two teams traded points towards the end of the set, but a kill from Ashley Rice ended it, 25-17, giving LIU the 2-0 lead in the match.
 
LIU struggled to connect offensively in the third set, as the Blackbirds hit only .031, with eight errors. The Highlanders took advantage, winning the set 25-15, and forcing a fourth.
 
In the fourth set, the Blackbirds bounced back hitting .407. The Blackbirds took a quick 4-0 setting the tone for the rest of the set. LIU widened the lead to 10-4 with a service ace by Cydni Asuncion, and the Blackbirds continued to use quick hits to stay ahead of the Highlanders. The Blackbirds had two more 3-0 runs to go up 22-15 and scored three straight points to take the win.
 
The Highlanders will return to action Saturday and face Maryland at 12:30pm and St. John's in the night cap at 4pm.
 
Play by Play courtesy Long Island Brooklyn