By Madeline Sattler, News Staff
On Saturday night, the Northeastern volleyball team accomplished something they were not able to complete last year: sweeping the season series against Hofstra University.
“Hofstra is always going to be competitive, especially when you’re at their place,” head coach Ken Nichols said. “To be able to assert ourselves a little bit now and be able to sweep that season series is important.”
Last season, the Huskies and the Pride each won on their own home courts, costing Northeastern the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) regular season title and the opportunity to host the tournament.
This time around, the Pride dropped straight sets in their Long Island gym (25-15, 25-22, 25-15). On Sept. 22, the Huskies beat Hofstra at Solomon Court in four sets.
“We beat Hofstra better this time than we did last time and that’s really the goal when you play a team the second time,” Nichols said. “Beating a team better the second time, I think, is a good indication that you’re learning as a team and you’re getting better.”
Northeastern opened up the first set of Saturday’s game with four straight points and never looked back. Junior outside hitter Janelle Tucker had five of her 11 kills in the opening frame, including the spike that won the set.
“The first game was, I think, the best hitting percentage-wise,” Tucker said. “I came out, used a lot of shots, was tipping a lot and their defense was kind of back on their heels not expecting it.”
The second set was a little closer as the Pride got on the board first. The two teams battled back and forth until they were tied at 18.
Hofstra went on a four-point run taking a the lead 22-18. But the Huskies finished the set with seven straight points which included three kills by senior middle hitter Nicole Bishop, two kills by Tucker and a service ace by junior outside hitter Kelly Bacon.
“We had a seven-point run [in the second set] and it was awesome,” Tucker said. “We just kept pushing one point at a time.”
Bacon had four of her eight kills in the set and tallied three service aces. Sophomore setter Jillian Briner notched eight assists in the set.
“We managed to come together as a team and work together,” Bacon said. “We pulled our strengths together to win.”
In the third set, the Huskies were aided by five Hofstra attacking errors to take a 7-3 lead.
“The third game we came out with all the momentum and just killed them which was awesome,” Tucker said.
The Pride had 16 errors in the final set and a final attacking error sealed the win for the Huskies.
Sophomore libero Natalia Skiba led the defense with 11 digs and also added one service ace. Junior setter Ina Kamenova led the team with 17 assists.
Last season, the Huskies dropped three games against CAA opponents, including the opening match against Hofstra.
“That game last year was the first conference game and really set us back, kept us from hosting and we really wanted revenge on that,” Tucker said. “I think that every time we play [Hofstra] from now on, we’ll think about that match and come out with a lot of fire and want to win.”
One of the many goals coming into this year was to win the CAA championship and have the opportunity to host the post-season tournament. In the past six years, the host team has made it to the championship match and has won the title four times.
With the win over Hofstra, the Huskies improved to 6-0 against CAA teams (17-3 overall). They remain in a first-place tie with the Towson University Tigers (6-0 CAA, 19-3 overall).
The Huskies have six more games against CAA opponents including a match Sunday against the Tigers.
“It’s probably going to be one of our tougher weekends,” Bacon said. “I think we’re coming out strong and getting ready to play them this weekend.”
The Huskies travel to the University of Delaware on Friday evening and will take on Towson University on Sunday afternoon.
“The ball is still round, their court is still square and we want to prove ourselves,” Nichols said.
