LORETTO, Pa. (Nov. 11, 2006) – Senior outside hitter Anne Roosevelt (Plymouth, Mich. / Mercy had a match high 20 kills and 21.5 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Saint Francis women’s volleyball team suffered a disappointing 3-0 Northeast Conference loss at Long Island on Saturday afternoon.

The Red Flash dropped its first conference match of the season 30-19, 30-23, 30-27 against the Blackbirds, who clinched the NEC’s top seed and right to host next weekend’s conference tournament.

Saint Francis is now 18-13 overall, and 6-1 in the NEC. The Red Flash will wrap up their regular season with a Noon start on Sunday, at Wagner. They have already clinched the conference tournament’s second seed, and a first round bye. The 18 wins represent a tie for the most wins for a single-season in program history.

Martina Wagner led the way for the Blackbirds with 16 kills. She added nine digs and four aces.

After losing the first two games, Saint Francis jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the third game. But the Blackbirds battled back and tied it at 15-15. LIU built a 19-6 lead, but the Red Flash came back to make it 21-20 before the Blackbirds went on a 7-1 run. Saint Francis would again rallied to cut the lead to 28-26. However LIU held on for the 30-27 win.

Sophomore Kristin Buter (Bowie, Md. / Bowie) had 11 kills and six digs for the Red Flash.