By Tim Foley, news staff
After losing to conference leaders Hofstra University and the College of Charleston, the Northeastern women’s volleyball team rallied to defeat Campbell University in five sets on Sunday.
The Huskies began their five-game road trip last Wednesday when they traveled to Hempstead, N.Y. to take on first-place Hofstra University (18-2, 6-0 CAA). In the tight first set, sophomore setter Jamie Bredahl recorded seven kills and one ace. With the score tied at 23, Hofstra managed to reach set point when senior outside hitter Kelsie Wills landed a kill. After an attack error by Northeastern, Hofstra took a 1-0 lead in the match.
Midway through the second set, Hofstra began to pull away. Despite a few late kills from hitters senior Alexa Armstrong and freshman Brigitte Burcescu, the Huskies were unable to spark a comeback and lost the set 25-15.
In the third set, the Huskies built up an early six point lead that Hofstra gradually chipped away at, eventually evening the score at 21. Northeastern struggled again to close late in the set, and were edged out by Hofstra 25-23, completing the 3-0 sweep. Senior middle hitter Ava Cramp commented on Hofstra’s team.
“They had an incredibly strong offense,” she said. “They were looking for our weaknesses, and they did a great job of exploiting them.”
On Saturday, the Huskies took the court to play the College of Charleston (13-8, 5-1 CAA). Down early, Northeastern went on an 8-1 scoring run in which senior defensive specialist Megan Kehoe had two service aces and Bredahl added two kills. A Burcescu kill helped the Huskies to pull away, and they won the set 25-22. Freshman setter Kristen Walding had 12 assists.
Down 5-4 in the second set, Charleston went on a 14-3 run, and the Huskies found themselves in a hole. The Charleston attack played a powerful set, landing 14 kills. They knotted the match 1-1.
Northeastern took an early lead in the third set, but again fell victim to a scoring spree from the Charleston front line and dropped the set 25-21.
Head Coach Ken Nichols said the meeting with Charleston was a “very streaky match,” where both teams scored “points in bunches.”
The Northeastern women showed resilience in the fourth set, tying the score at 24, but after two consecutive kills, Charleston took the set and the match 3-1.
Redshirt freshman Claire Manhard had a standout performance against Charleston. The defensive specialist posted her season high 17 digs in the match. Nichols said that Manhard “has played at an exceptionally high level.”
On a four-game losing skid, the Huskies traveled to Campbell University (10-11, 2-3 Big South) for a non-league match on Sunday – a match in which Armstrong competed against her younger sister, Amelia. Cramp said it was “remarkable” to see the two sisters play.
“They didn’t even really look at each other when they were playing,” Cramp said. “Amelia had a great game, as well as Alexa, and I think it made their dad really happy.”
Struggling to find a rhythm, Northeastern dropped the first two sets to the Fighting Camels.
The Huskies refused to give in though; Nichols called it “the resiliency of youth.”
Capitalizing on Campbell errors, Northeastern took a quick 5-0 lead in the third set and didn’t look back.
Having won the third set 25-15, the Huskies rode the momentum into the fourth. Consistent serving from senior libero Natalia Skiba helped Northeastern to take a 9-2 lead in the set. Cramp said that even with a lead, the Huskies were playing with a “sense of urgency.”
With the match tied 2-2, the Huskies developed a 6-1 lead in the final set, thanks to two service aces from Skiba. Northeastern maintained a comfortable lead throughout the set, and won 15-8, finishing the five-set comeback.
Skiba, Walding and Bredahl all posted digs in the double digits in the match.
The Huskies will continue their road trip on Friday when they face James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va.
Photo courtesy Todd Drexler, Northeastern Athletics
