By Tim Foley, News Staff
At the Rose Hill Classic, the Northeastern University women’s volleyball team was able to find a rhythm, sparking a three-match sweep of the weekend tournament. The Huskies then returned home to the Cabot Center for a match against the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday, which they lost in four sets.
Following a disappointing 3-0 loss to the University of Central Florida last week, the Huskies looked to rebound Friday in their match against Rider University (0-3).
After winning the first set, Northeastern got off to a fast start in the second set and jumped out to an early lead. Five kills and a block from freshman middle Taylor Reiter helped the Huskies take the set. Reiter is one of the team’s four freshmen – all of whom earned playing time at the weekend tournament. Head coach Ken Nichols commented on the progress of the team’s young players.
“The work ethic in practice is phenomenal, and they’re hungry to get better, which is the most important thing,” Nichols said.
In the third set, a run of six consecutive points for Rider erased an early Husky lead, and the Broncs were able to take the set 25-22. However, Northeastern regained control in the fourth set, as they came back from a five point deficit and completed the victory.
Hours later, the Huskies took the court again for a match against Fairleigh Dickinson University. The Northeastern attack dominated the first two sets, generating a total of 34 kills. Defensively, the Huskies held the Knights to just nine points in the first set and 11 in the second.
While Fairleigh Dickinson won the third set, the Huskies were quick to respond in the fourth. Sophomore setter Jamie Bredahl had 10 assists and two kills in the set, and the Huskies won the match.
“The real challenge for Jamie in practice is playing two distinct parts. It’s very rare in NCAA Division I that you see a kid trying to set and hit,” Nichols said. “But she’s doing a great job in practice trying to get as many reps as she needs to.”
Saturday’s match was the conclusion of the tournament against the hosting Fordham University Rams. The Huskies dominated the match, winning in straight sets and finishing the tournament with an undefeated record. Senior libero Natalia Skiba totaled 12 digs against the Rams, and was named MVP of the Rose Hill Classic. Nichols referred to Skiba as one of the team’s strongest players. Skiba was selected as CAA defensive specialist of the year her freshman season.
“The big focus this tournament was winning that third set, and not going to four and we didn’t succeed the first two games, but the last one we pulled it off,” Skiba said.
The Huskies followed the weekend tournament with their home opener against the University of Rhode Island on Tuesday. After losing the first set, the Northeastern women had a 25-24 lead in the second. It appeared that the Huskies had taken the set when a hit from a Rhode Island attacker landed out of bounds. However, the referee ruled that a Northeastern defender had gotten a piece of the ball, and Rhode Island was able to stay alive and win the set. While the Huskies fought to win the third set, they were ousted 26-24 in the fourth and lost the match.
Nichols said before the match with Rhode Island that he expected it to be “an all-out brawl.” While it didn’t go to five sets, play was even between the two teams throughout the match.
Later this week, the Huskies will travel to South Bend, Ind., for a three-game tournament at the University of Notre Dame.
Photo by Todd Drexler, Northeastern Athletics
