By Gina-Maria Garcia
The Northeastern volleyball team added two more conference play victories under their belt, having swept Georgia State University (GSU) and University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNC) at Solomon Court this past weekend.
The Huskies defeated Georgia State Oct. 9 in the first three sets, 25-16, 25-16 and 25-22, respectively. The 3-0 triumph over the Panthers was the team’s ninth sweep of the season, breaking last year’s record of eight total sweeps.
In the first set, the team was in control from the beginning, seizing a 12-4 advantage. The Panthers were forced to call a timeout on two occasions to regroup and eventually brought the set within six points, at 22-16, until the Huskies pushed three points to finish the match with kills from junior middle hitter Nicole Bishop and sophomore outside hitter Janelle Tucker.
The second set started off as a closer battle than the first, as the score was tied seven different times before things were evened up at 10-10. A kill from Tucker ignited a 11-0 Northeastern run, which also included kills from junior outside hitter Jasmine Marta and sophomore middle hitter Nichole Kurz, as well as with a number of errors committed by the Panthers.
With the Panthers never coming within seven points of the Huskies, the team took the win with a lead cushion at 25-16.
The third set was a different story, as the Panthers didn’t fall behind the entire set. After being tied on five occasions, the Panthers were able to push a two-point lead over the Huskies at 17-15, forcing Northeastern head coach Ken Nichols to call his first timeout of the match.
Following the timeout, the team was able to tie the score again at 17-17 and the score was again even at 21-21 and 22-22. Two errors by the Panthers brought the score to game point and the match was finished with a final kill by Bishop at the net.
Following the timeout, the team was able to tie the score again at 17-17 and the score was again even at 21-21 and 22-22. Two errors by the Panthers brought the score to game point and the match was finished with a final kill by Bishop at the net.
“No team in conference is going to give us a win,” she said. “They’re going to work as hard as they can until the game’s over. From here out, winning every game is important even if they are not the top teams in the conference.”
Northeastern had yet another win Oct. 7 against the UNC Wilmington Seahawks in a four-set battle, 25-21, 16-25, 25-19 and 25-17, respectively.
The Seahawks started the first set with a two-point lead and the teams later tied the score at 5-5 and 10-10. The two teams switched off the next eight points until Northeastern pushed a 20-15 lead. At game point, a UNC error gave the win to Northeastern at 25-21.
The second set started off as a back-and-forth battle until the Seahawks earned a 15-11 lead forcing Nichols to call a time out. After the break, the teams rallied and traded errors, but the Seahawks won the set with two kills and a block at the net.
“In the second set, they took advantage of our weaknesses,” Bishop said. “It was kind of a challenge because we had to turn it around and take advantage of their weakness in the next sets.”
The Huskies may have been the ones being taken advantage of, but they reversed roles with UNC Wilmington in the third and fourth sets, take advantage of the Seahawks’ weaknesses to win the match. Northeastern started off the third set with an early 11-4 lead.
The score was leveled at 14-14 and 17-17 but Northeastern won the next 8 out of the 10 points to take the victory at 25-19. With a 2-1 advantage, the Huskies played the entire fourth set in the lead never tying the game. The Seahawks came within six points of the Huskies at one point but Northeastern took the win at 25-17.
“We’re turning around our first two losses,” said freshman setter Jillian Briner who earned Rookie of the Week honors from the CAA Oct. 10. “We followed game plan a little more and we made a lot less unforced errors. Hopefully this means we’ll make it to the post-season if we continue on this track.”
The Huskies are scheduled for two matches in Virginia, first against George Mason University on Friday, Oct. 14 and James Madison University on Saturday, Oct. 15. Both matches are set for 7 p.m.
