By Jonathan Raymond

The volleyball team came within inches of pulling off an improbable upset over Connecticut last night, only to be stopped short by a controversial call.

The Huskies fell 3-2 (22-30, 24-30, 30-21, 30-26, 13-15), finding themselves with a quick 2-0 deficit before pulling even and sending it into a fifth game. It was in the deciding game when, with a 13-13 tie, an official overruled a call made by the linesperson that would have given a Huskies the 14-13 lead. With the changed call, UConn was able to go ahead for the 15-13 win.

“In 17 years I’ve never seen that,” said head coach Ken Nichols. “It was not a well-called match. It was very, very loose.”

The disappointing end soured an otherwise surprising comeback for the Huskies.

“We decided that we could play better, and that all of us were going to change the momentum of the game by coming out loud,” said senior captain Kira Batura, who had 16 kills and 13 digs in the game.

Down 2-0, Nichols used the break between games two and three to motivate his team.

“The 10-minute break gave us time to talk strategy, and we made adjustments,” Nichols said.

Junior outside hitter Lauren DeTurk had a strong game, leading Northeastern in both kills, with 21, and digs, with 23.

“Someone had to step up, and I just tried to do that,” DeTurk said.

Freshman setter Britney Brown added 15 kills with a .448 attack percentage while freshman middle hitter Caitlin Tittl pitched in 10 kills with a .364 attack percentage as well. On the defensive side, sophomore libero Leah Neubeck added 17 digs.

The Huskies ultimately took the disappointment in stride.

“We’re not happy about it, but you can’t get frustrated,” Batura said.

NU looks to rebound against Brown Sept. 14 at the Albany Classic at 3 p.m.