By Jewel Della Valle
The Huskies won their sixth straight match Saturday night, defeating James Madison 3-1, and head to Delaware for the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) tournament this weekend.
Northeastern, which was picked to finish tied for sixth with William ‘ Mary in the Preseason Coaches Poll, has shocked the CAA this season by finishing as the second seed in the conference with a 9-12 record (11-3 CAA), just one game behind Delaware. The seeding gives the Huskies a first-round bye before playing in the semifinals Saturday night.
“It’s a refreshing change of pace for us, all things considered, including the expectations of my peers,” said head coach Ken Nichols.
Northeastern managed to pull out Saturday’s win without the help of three of its top players. Senior captain Kira Batura was still unable to play during the weekend because of a torn ligament in her foot, and sophomore libero Leah Neubeck and freshman middle hitter Caitlin Tittl, who was named CAA Co-Rookie of the Week, both suffered sprained ankles. Neubeck sprained her ankle before the Huskies’ 3-1 win over George Mason Friday night, but still played on it, and Tittl sprained her ankle in game one.
Nichols said Batura, Tittl and Neubeck are all day-to-day, with no definitive answer on whether they will be well enough to play in the tournament, though the prospect of having Neubeck play looks the most promising.
The Huskies needed to win Friday’s match to lock up the first-round bye, and came out tough in game one, going on a 13-3 run to fight off George Mason to win it 30-20. The Patriots came back strong in game two, taking the contest 30-19, but Northeastern triumphed in games three and four (30-23, 30-24) for the match victory.
The Huskies out hit George Mason .226 to .148 in the match. Junior outside hitter Lauren DeTurk led the Husky offense with a double-double, totaling a match-high 18 kills and 16 digs. She was named CAA Co-Player of the Week, which is her third time receiving the honor of Player of the Week or Co-Player of the Week this season.
Freshman setter Britney Brown also took home a double-double, tallying 12 kills and 26 digs, which tied her for the team-high with sophomore setter Jessica Tkachuk.
Saturday’s match was a closer affair, with each game being decided by a margin of two points. Northeastern dropped game one 30-28, but battled back to win the next three (34-32, 30-28, 32-30) for the victory. The win was Northeastern’s 12th in 15 matches, and the Huskies close out the season at 19-12 (11-3 CAA).
“[We] are such a competitive group,” Nichols said. “They went out there and fought for every point.”
DeTurk took home her 18th double-double of the season, racking up a match-high 25 kills and team-high 17 digs. Freshman middle hitter Jillian Robinson and junior opposite Sarah Stein chipped in nine kills apiece, and Brown fell one dig shy of a triple-double with 10 kills, a team-high 28 assists, and nine digs. Tkachuk and freshman libero Helene Servillon helped out with 27 assists, and 16 digs, respectively.
Northeastern will take on the winner of Friday’s match-up between No. 3 Hofstra and No. 6 George Mason Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The Huskies fell twice to Hofstra this season, losing 1-3 Sept. 22 and 2-3 Oct. 20. Northeastern lost to George Mason in five games Oct. 7, but won Friday night’s match-up in four.
