Extending its winning streak to nine games, Northeastern University volleyball took down the College of William & Mary, James Madison University and Elon University at home over the weekend, maintaining a perfect record in conference.
The streak marks the best start to a Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) season for the Huskies (14-6, 7-0 CAA) since 2008.
“We’re doing much better this year than we ever have in my time here,” fourth-year outside hitter Brigitte Burcescu said. “Even if we fall behind, I feel very confident that we can pull it off if we go to a fifth set. And there is always positive energy in the locker room.”
Confidence came in handy over the weekend as the Northeastern women battled to five sets against James Madison and Elon. But it also showed through their sure-handed defeat of William & Mary on Thursday.
“We did a good job in terms of game plan execution,” head coach Ken Nichols said. “William & Mary is a severely underrated team, and then we had to figure out how to prepare for the other two matches back to back.”
Despite a short week to prepare, the Huskies had a strong start to Thursday’s match, stringing together a late 5-1 run against the Tribe (2-17, 0-6 CAA) to take the first set.
The Huskies built their lead early in the second after consecutive kills from second-year outside hitter Amy Underdown put them up 12-6. Burcescu downed one of her nine kills to end the set 25-21. The Huskies were even more dominant in the third, developing an early 9-1 run and winning 25-15.
Third-year libero Gabrielle Eyl led the team with 17 digs against William & Mary, and would be the team leader in that category for the next two matches as well. Eyl was recognized as CAA Defensive Player of the Week for her performance.
“[Eyl] has done an amazing job for us,” Burcescu said. “She hasn’t gotten the recognition she deserves, but is finally starting to get those weekly awards. She has a really great work ethic. The Gab you see in practice is the same Gab you see in a game.”
Against James Madison Saturday, the Huskies held a 23-19 lead in the first set, but then gave up seven of the next eight points. The Dukes (13-2, 4-2 CAA) took the frame after three straight kills from third-year outside hitter Bryn Recker, and for the first time since Sept. 22 the Northeastern women found themselves trailing in a match.
“You can learn a lot more from a loss than from a win,” Nichols said. “We learned from our loss against Harvard a few weeks ago, and it was the same thing in the first set against James Madison.”
The Huskies responded by amping up their attack, combining for 16 kills in the second set, and serving four aces as a team.
“We have some really tough servers this year,” Burcescu said. “Because of that, we were able to affect [James Madison’s] passing and made it harder for them to get the ball to their middles.”
Third-year defensive specialist Sherrie Wang led the team with four aces against the Dukes, followed closely by second-year Clare Lund and first-year Gabrielle Tschannen who finished with three and two, respectively.
Northeastern won the second set by a comfortable 13-point margin, but had to battle in the third, eventually losing after an 8-1 run from the Dukes. The fourth set was punctuated by four kills from Underdown, who led the team with 18 in the match.
The Huskies won the fourth, 25-21, to force a decisive fifth set. Five straight points set up a 9-5 lead for Northeastern. Then, after a James Madison attack error, Burcescu pounded down a kill to end the match.
“[Burcescu] is more healthy [sic] this year, and now she’s back to the legacy Brig who’s always carried a big role for us,” Nichols said. “We can count on her to make big swings under pressure.”
Sunday’s match against Elon was another marathon. The Huskies won the first set but found themselves trailing in the second. Despite a combined eight kills from Underdown and first-year outside hitter Athena Ardila, the Phoenix (13-8, 2-4 CAA) was able to even the match at one set apiece.
Once again, the Northeastern women dialed up a resilient performance to regain control, this time winning the third set 25-13.
“I really think it says something about the heart of a warrior,” Nichols said. “These kids can take a punch. They’re not going to just sit back — it’s never been in our blood in the Husky volleyball program.”
The Phoenix came back in the fourth, sending the match to a final frame, but the Huskies built a 10-5 lead and scored five of the last six points to secure the fifth.
After the exhausting weekend, Northeastern has a full week to prepare for its away match against Hofstra Sunday.
“It’s really important that we rest,” Burcescu said. “Coach gave us two full days off, which doesn’t happen often. This time of season is when injuries start to happen, and we really want to stay healthy.”
