By Erika Carrubba
The Northeastern volleyball team is finally putting the early-season losses and injuries behind it to become the Colonial Athletic Association contender they were expected to be.
With a sweep of CAA opponents Georgia State and University of North Carolina-Wilmington, the Huskies improved their record to 4-6 overall and 3-1 in the conference.
The Huskies beat UNC-Wilmington in three games (30-22, 30-21, 30-13) on Sunday. Senior Brandie Genibrel continued to lead the Huskies with 12 kills and 14 digs for her fourth consecutive double-double. The outside hitter was named CAA Player of the Week.
“As a small hitter, sometimes the matchups are tough for her because the opposing blockers are much bigger,”coach Ken Nichols said. “So far she has been able to figure out every blocker and put up good numbers in both offensive and defensive categories.”
Genibrel contributes her consistent play to more court time and familiarity with the team’s style of play.
“Last year I was a transfer student, and playing with a new team was a learning experience. I was thrown into something completely different than I was used to,” Genibrel said.
Northeastern fell behind early in game one but took the lead 12-11, not allowing Wilmington within seven points for the rest of the frame. The Huskies didn’t trail again in the match.
Sophomore Kira Batura and junior Ashley Reeves added 13 digs each and senior Larissa Adomat had nine kills and a .467 hitting percentage. Freshman Lauren DeTurk recorded 11 kills.
Georgia State fell to Northeastern 3-1 (30-26, 30-19, 19-30, 30-18) on Friday thanks to five Huskies with 12 kills or more.
Batura posted 15 kills and 13 digs and Genibrel added 13 kills and 15 digs. Senior Larissa Adomat, Reeves, and DeTurk each registered 12 kills in the match and combined for a .321 attack percentage.
In games one and two, the Huskies forced 14 Panther errors and hit .347. In game three, Georgia hit .528 with one error to take the frame.
“They found a form that worked for them and they were able to keep us under .300,” Nichols said. “They also used a constant substitution rotation to slow the game down.”
Game four saw Northeastern take back control and win 30 -18.
“We stayed poised and focused and didn’t allow them to get in our heads,” Nichols said. “We neutralized what had worked for them in game three.”
The combination of junior setters Ivana Pavlisin and Chelsea Carroll also continued to work for the Huskies. They combined for 59 assists in the Georgia match and 36 against Wilmington. Freshman Dayna King stepped into the libero position with 20 digs allowing junior Whitney Turner to step back into an offensive position for the first time since injuring herself opening weekend.
