By Tim Foley, news staff
The Northeastern women’s volleyball team reached the halfway point of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season last weekend, losing road matches to James Madison University (JMU) and the College of William & Mary.
The Huskies entered Friday’s game against JMU (12-9, 4-4 CAA) hoping to snap a four game in-conference losing streak.
Midway through the first set, sophomore setter Jamie Bredahl landed awkwardly after attempting a block and was pulled from the game.
Head Coach Ken Nichols said that she is out indefinitely with an ankle injury. Freshman outside hitter Brigitte Burcescu called Bredahl a “crucial player.” The loss of Bredahl, who started in every set for the Huskies this season, was costly for the team. Northeastern lost the first set 25-19 and struggled to find a rhythm in the second, scoring only 16 points.
In the middle of the third set, the Huskies were able to bring the score within two points after falling to an early deficit. Despite 11 team kills assisted by freshman setter Kristen Walding, Northeastern was unable to spark a late comeback. Winning the set 25-22, JMU completed the 3-0 sweep.
The Huskies had a difficult time hitting against the JMU front line. Burcescu had 13 of the team’s 32 kills – the Huskies’ lowest number of kills against CAA competition this season.
“They were really good at stopping our offense, which made it so much harder for us,” Burcescu said.
The Huskies were not the same without the versatile Bredahl. This season, she is statistically ranked in the top two on the team for kills, service aces, assists and digs. The sophomore sat out of Saturday’s game against William & Mary (6-17, 2-6 CAA) as well.
Losing a full time starter also affected Nichols’ ability to make substitutions. “Each of the four sets, we were out of subs,” Nichols said.
In Bredahl’s absence, other Northeastern attackers were needed to step in and perform. Both junior outside hitter Cherylain Dizon and freshman middle blocker Carmen Costa saw substantial playing time in Saturday’s match. Dizon played in all four sets and matched her season high 14 kills.
“I was kind of struggling during the James Madison game,” Dizon said, “and from that I kind of just channeled everything into the William & Mary game.”
Costa also landed her season best four kills. In the two sets she played, she was free of attack errors and posted a .571 average hitting percentage.
The Huskies got off to an early lead in the first set. While the William & Mary women kept it close, nine Burcescu kills propelled the team to a 23-25 victory.
Trailing by six points, the Huskies were able to bring the score within two points late in the second set, but lost 22-25. Freshman middle blocker Taylor Reiter had three of her nine kills in that set and senior defensive specialist Megan Kehoe added two aces, but the match was knotted 1-1.
The Huskies gave up a series of kills early in the third set, and William & Mary developed a lead. Down six points, Dizon subbed in and contributed five kills and a block, committing only one unforced error, but that was not enough to erase the early gap. William & Mary maintained a lead and eked out a 25-23 win of the third set.
There were four lead changes as the two teams exchanged points for most of the fourth set. Dizon and Costa combined for 10 kills. While the score remained close, William & Mary pulled away late in the set and won the match 3-1.
Saturday’s loss marked the end of a five-game road trip for the Huskies.
The Northeastern women will look to turn a new leaf as they embark on the second half of their league season on Friday, when they take on Elon University at home.
Photo courtesy Jim Pierce, Northeastern Athletics
