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JUST THE FACTS
NEC Women's Volleyball Championship
Who: #4 Saint Francis vs. #1 LIU Brooklyn
When: Saturday, 3 p.m.
Where: Wellness Recreation and Athletic Center at LIU Brooklyn
All-Time Series: LIU Leads 19-10
Last Time: LIU Brooklyn 3, Saint Francis 0 (25-21, 25-14, 25-21)
 
SETTING THE STAGE
Saint Francis enters the Northeast Conference postseason for the first time since the 2008 campaign. LIU Brooklyn defeated SFU in the finals the last time the two teams met in the postseason. The two squads have met twice in 2012, with LIU coming away the victor in both chances. LIU holds an all-time series record over SFU, 19-10.
 
SCOUTING THE BLACKBIRDS
LIU Brooklyn finished the season winning 17 consecu- tive matches, including all 16 contests in the Northeast Conference. The Blackbirds only lost seven sets in all of conference play. Annika Foit, the likely frontrunner for the NEC Player of the Year, leads LIU with 428 kills, which is an average of 3.93 per set. Foit won NEC Rookie of the Year plaudits in 2011. Vera Djuric, the 2011 NEC Setter of the Year, has had another impressive campaign as she registered 1,156 assists, good for an average of 10.61 per set.
 
LAST TIME OUT...
Saint Francis closed out the final week of its regular season on the road in NYC. The Flash lost to LIU Brooklyn in three sets, but played the Blackbirds very tough. On Sunday, SFU took down St. Francis (NY) in the final matchup of the regular season. Kayla Jeckell (Mountaintop, Pa./Crestwood) recorded a career-high 20 kills in the match which led SFU en route to a 3-1 victory. This was the second win over SFNY in the 2012 season. The Terriers finished 4-29 overall, including a 2-14 mark in conference play.
 
MAKING IT IN
Saint Francis earned its first Northeast Conference playoff berth since the 2008 campaign. The 10 conference wins is a program record for SFU, since the NEC expanded to 16 conference games in 2009.
 
THE 1,000 KILL CLUB
Seniors Lauren Wingard (York, Pa./Dallastown Area) and Elizabeth Williams (North Bend, Ohio/Saint Ursula) further etched their names into the SFU record books this season. Wingard registered her 1,000th career kill against Fairleigh Dickinson on the road Oct. 13, while Williams recorded hers also against FDU at home on Nov. 3.
 
SERVING UP SUCCESS
Saint Francis has remained one of the top serving teams in the country as they currently rank third in service aces per set with 1.86. SFU has recorded double-digit service aces in eight contests in 2012.