By: Nathan Vaughan, News Staff
The volleyball team continues to defy history against Hofstra University. After a 1-30 losing streak against the team from Hempstead, N.Y., Northeastern won four of the last six faceoffs; the most recent was a 3-0 victory Saturday.
“Beating anyone at their house is fun,” said Britney Brown, senior captain, setter and opposite hitter. “It was a good win for us, coming back after the previous weekend with two losses, it was the win we needed. It definitely helped our team’s motivation and confidence.”
The first set was a close affair. It was tied as late as 17-17, but the Huskies’ strong serving was enough to take the set 25-20.
Senior libero Jessica LaScola was the key in the second set. LaScola started a four-point rally that put Northeastern up 18-11. The Pride was able to capitalize on the Huskies’ offensive errors and cut the lead to 23-21 before Head Coach Ken Nichols called timeout.
After the timeout, the Huskies took the next two points to take the set 25-21, and a 2-0 lead.
In the third set, Northeastern never trailed, but Hofstra wouldn’t go down without a fight. On the verge of victory at 24-23, Northeastern was forced to take a timeout after Hofstra had pulled so close.
Freshman middle Nichole Kurz put down her seventh kill of the match to complete the sweep 25-24, 3-0. The win moved the Huskies to 12-7 (3-2 Colomial Athletic Association) and 7-1 on the road.
Kurz, fellow freshmen outsides Janelle Tucker and Kelly Bacon, led the game in kills with seven apiece.
“Right now we’ve got a deep bench and a lot of people who have had a great tour of duty with me over the years, and I would like for them to get more court time and establish themselves,” Nichols said. “The future is really bright but the moment is now. Whoever is putting the ball down on that given day is all that matters.”
Lascola sits in a tie at No. 55 in the nation for digs per set with 4.83.
Tomorrow, the Huskies will travel to take on the University of North Carolina- Wilmington at 7 p.m. Northeastern will be in Atlanta to play Georgia State University (GSU) Sunday. GSU is currently tied for fourth place with Northeastern and has already beaten preseason favorite University of Delaware.
