LIU Women’s Volleyball Team Cinches Conference Win in History-Making Season

BY: CAMILA TABORA / STAFF WRITER

The Sharks triumphantly celebrate their championship win Photo via LIU Athletics

In a stunningly successful season, the LIU Women’s Volleyball team has emerged the undisputed champions of the NEC Division I Northeastern Conference’s 2025 season. 

As a whole, they’ve won 20 total games, many without allowing the other team to win a single set, including the semifinal. In conference, they had only lost a single game against Saint Francis University, who they promptly beat the next day. Coming into the championship tournament, they were ranked as the first seed in the Northeastern Conference, and played both the semifinal and final right here in the WRAC.

The Sharks also secured the championship title for the regular season after their wins against Stonehill college; the 12th overall for the program and the first in seven years. As reported by LIU Athletics, not only is this the most regular season wins the program has ever received under the Shark mascot, but it is also the most conference wins in the entire NEC since 2019. 

The team itself is also highly decorated; Player/Co-Player of the Week awards have gone to Sara Van Gisteren and Yasmeen Muhammad, Defensive Player of the Week awards have gone to Miabella Musignac, and Prime Performer awards have gone to all the aforementioned players as well as Karly Klaer, Bella Correia, and Sara Garcia. 

By the end of the season, Musignac was declared the Defensive Player of the Year and Klaer the Setter of the Year. Musignac and Klaer, along with Muhammad and Van Gisteren additionally made First Team All-NEC, and Correia made Second Team All-NEC. 

“Winning individual awards is awesome and it feels great, but it is also a team success, as there is a lot of behind the scenes work that goes into it,” middle blocker Yasmeen Muhammad said of her successes, “My teammates make me better in practice everyday which is what allows me to succeed and get awards like this.”

Of the team, Muhammad described them as “super internally motivated”, mentioning, “We are also super connected and have great relationships with each other, which makes us want to work hard not only for ourselves but for the girls next to us.”

Leading up to the championships were weeks of tense gameplay. Three weeks before the championship game was the matchup against Saint Francis University, where, on Halloween, the Sharks had their only conference loss. However, in a game that went into five sets, LIU promptly beat SFU the next day.

“After losing our first match against Saint Francis, everyone was super hungry. We took that loss very personally, which is why we were able to come back so strong the next day,”  Muhammad noted. “All in all, everything is mental with us. We know that we have the skill to beat any of our opponents; it is simply about our mentality and staying hungry throughout the whole game.”

The next week saw them square up against Fairleigh Dickinson University. The Friday game was incredibly tense, but after five sets, LIU gained another victory, beating FDU again the next day in only four sets. 

Finally, in the weekend that solidified their regular season win, LIU beat Stonehill College in two games spanning three sets, ending Stonehill’s season and resulting in a triumphant Saturday senior night for setter and right side hitter Karly Klaer, the only senior on this year’s team. 

“The girls were incredible on making senior night so special for me,” Klaer beamed, “The community here is exactly what we would need to have a successful tournament, so knowing after that game that we would be hosting was the final adrenaline boost we were looking for.” 

On the night of the semifinals, LIU beat Mercyhurst University swiftly in only three sets, making the start of the tournament look like just another walk in the park.

“We had a really good week of practice leading up to it. We had a lot of fun, laughed a lot, and stayed loose, which helped us look at the game as just another game instead of putting so much pressure on it.”

After the semifinal win, the Sharks now saw themselves facing the school that had given them their only conference loss, SFU, again. 

“SFU has a great team, there is no questioning that,” Klaer remarked, “We knew they’d score points, so it came down to who could manage the runs. Looking back, there’s no one we’d rather play in the finals.”

The first set was definitely tense, with Saint Francis winning it 25-22, but as the game progressed, LIU built up momentum and scored set after set. The stands were electric with support: LIU fans waved handmade posters with slogans predicting the team’s “ring season” and enthusiastically cheered the team on. Some even rhythmically drummed and led chants, leading to many to dance along.

Ultimately, the team won the game in only four sets. The winning kill was performed by Klaer herself, in which she commented:

“...I knew I would be setting Yazzy Muhammad that ball. She has grown so much over the season, obviously in her game, but in her leadership skills as well. Everyone played lights out; Sara Van Gisteren had a great game – the MVP award was clearly hers. Miabella Musignac picked up balls I thought were down and Bella Correira had a stellar second set that could not have been done without her.”

Hugs and tears ensued, as the fact of the win settled in. Klaer describes there being “lots of emotions” from how they “overcame so much adversity.”

“The waves of tears that came after that game were entirely related to how proud I am of each of these girls,” she added, “Everyone played their role, and if just one single person wasn't all in, it wouldn't have worked the way it did. I am just so proud.”

Afterwards, they were presented with their winner’s trophy and champion shirts, with Van Gisteren receiving her MVP plaque coming from an incredibly impressive 23 kills, four aces, and one block. Many of the team’s loved ones were seen walking onto the court and jubilantly congratulating the team as LIU fans reveled in the high energy of the win until the very end.

Currently, the team is working on continuing their season in the NCAA Division I Tournament, starting with the undefeated Nebraska Huskies. When asked on how the team feels moving into this stage of the season, Klaer said:

“Since the beginning of the NEC tournament, we knew that every game we’d get to play moving forward is a blessing. We are incredibly grateful to be back in the gym this week. No one wants to be done, and you can see that in the way we continue to work hard. We are excited and ready to play our hearts out.”