By Ari Strait
The Northeastern University women’s volleyball team clinched the second seed in the America East this weekend with back to back victories over the Binghamton University Bearcats and the University of Albany Great Danes.
The team would clearly have preferred a first place finish, but as junior Kristin Ursillo pointed out, it was a second-seeded team that brought home the Huskies’ first America East volleyball championship last season.
“Obviously we’re not happy with it, but it doesn’t matter who’s seeded where. We wanted to host for the playoffs, but other than that, it doesn’t matter. We were seeded second last year,” she said.
Saturday’s 3-0 road defeat of the Bearcats (8-19, 2-8) was the second time this year the Huskies (17-14, 9-2) have swept through a three game match against Binghamton.
Just like their previous meeting, the Huskies more than doubled the offensive efficiency of their opponents, finishing with a team hitting percentage of .271 to the Bearcats’ .083.
Head coach Ken Nichols believes that it’s the strength of his defense that allows for such domination.
“It’s a conscious effort. It’s the oldest adage in all of sport, defense does win championships. When I came to Northeastern, we had a lot of blocks, which is a key element, but only a fraction of what you can do with digs. It’s the balance of the two that’s a lot fun to coach,” Nichols said.
Freshman Larissa Adomat and senior Erin Spangler, the number one and two hitters in the America East conference, along with junior Lindsay Wagner, combined for 31 of the team’s 49 kills and a .314 hitting percentage. Ursillo, who was already leading the conference with 11.67 assists per game, further distanced herself from the rest of the league, picking up 45 assists in just three games.
The 3-1 Friday victory against the Great Danes (14-13, 4-6) featured big news for both teams, as the Huskies welcomed senior defensive specialist Kelly Cognac back on to the court for the first time in over a month, and Albany freshman Eileen Rodriguez broke the NCAA record for service aces in a season.
Cognac, who had been suffering from a stress fracture in her right leg, leapt right back into action, and made it appear as if she hadn’t missed a beat, tallying a team-high 19 digs.
Ursillo did not hesitate in recognizing the importance of Cognac’s return.
“Kelly is a leader on the court and off the court, and her defense is just so consistent. Sara Bill did a really great job filling in for her, but the team is better with her back,” she said.
Offensively, Ursillo and Adomat led the way for the Huskies, with Ursillo falling just two kills shy of a triple-double, and Adomat knocking down 19 kills with just two errors. It was the second near triple-double in three games for Ursillo, who also powered six service aces past the Great Danes.
Both of their efforts were recognized by conference officials, who awarded Adomat her first player of the week title, and Ursillo yet another setter of the week award.
With just one game against Maine left in the regular season, and playoffs the weekend after, the Huskies are beginning to plan for the tournament, but are making sure they don’t take anything for granted.
“We’ve got the teams fairly well scouted. Our execution is very good, and we mixed things up a little bit. We are experimenting with some things that the teams we are expecting to playoffs haven’t seen. On paper we hope to play New Hampshire in the finals. But we’re going to make sure we ready for both teams,” said Nichols.
