With the Cabot Center decorated with Latin American flags, free bucket hats and Latin American food for fans, the Northeastern women’s volleyball team (7-7, 5-1 CAA) defeated William & Mary  (5-10, 1-5 CAA) in three straight sets Oct. 5 to complete the weekend sweep with set scores of 26-24, 25-11 and 25-19. 

The Tribe took the first point of the game with a kill by fifth-year outside hitter Maddie Meyers, but Northeastern’s sophomore blocker Kaylin Daniels was quick to answer big with a kill of her own to tie it at one a piece. Meyers added two more points for the Tribe from another kill and a block. Northeastern quickly answered with two more points, including junior libero Nadia Koanui’s first ace in what became an outstanding six-ace performance, to tie the set 3-3. 

Both teams exchanged kills until the Tribe went on a four-point run that was stopped by a powerful kill by Northeastern’s sophomore middle blocker Beatrice Gennari to bring the set to 8-5 William & Mary. 

Freshman outside hitter Brynn Smith had three kills for the Huskies in a back-and-forth kill exchange to bring the score to 11-7 William & Mary. The set continued with give and take until a kill by freshman outside hitter Jane Nelson sent control of serving back to Northeastern with a set score of 14-9 William & Mary — and that’s when the energy shifted.

Koanui had an incredible run behind the serving line, including three aces and a bad set by the Tribe before William & Mary called a timeout. Out of the timeout, both teams had a great volley until a dominant block by graduate student middle hitter Millie Loehr and graduate student middle blocker Georgia Stavrinides ended it to tie the set at 14 points each. Koanui added another ace until her serving point run came to a close, courtesy of a kill by Meyers, to bring the score to 15-15. The Huskies’ five point deficit had quickly been erased, and the suspense in Cabot continued to grow. 

Both teams fought back and forth the rest of the way. Northeastern called a timeout with the score 20-18 William & Mary and came out with kill exchanges from Smith and graduate middle blocker Sabrina Malcolm to put William & Mary ahead 22-20. Both teams continued to exchange points until Northeastern tied it up off a kill by Loehr that found a gap in the back corner of the court to bring the score to 23-23. 

The Tribe added a kill by sophomore outside hitter Audrey Brcka to bring the game to set point, but a kill by Stavrinides tied it back up. On the next point, Loehr landed a huge kill to bring the score to 25-24. 

William & Mary took a timeout to try and gather themselves, but the Huskies could not be stopped. A silencing block by Gennari won the set for the Huskies, 26-24. 

The close back and forth of the first set was almost nonexistent in the second set as the Huskies dominated the Tribe. While William & Mary won the first two points off an attack error by Nelson and a kill by sophomore opposite Katherine Arnason, Northeastern was ready to stop them. A kill by Nelson opened up the Huskies’ scoring and put them back in charge of serving. With Koanui behind the service line again, the Huskies went on a five-point run to bring the set score to 6-2 Northeastern until William & Mary called a timeout. 

William & Mary earned the first point out of the timeout, but Northeastern responded quickly, adding two more points to bring the set to 8-3. Arnason added a kill, but the Huskies went on a three-point streak — one kill from Nelson and two from Smith — to bring it to 11-4 Northeastern. Both teams exchanged points until Northeastern went on another three-point run, including two huge blocks, to bring the score to 14-6 Northeastern and cause William & Mary to use their final timeout of the set. 

Northeastern took the first point out of the timeout with an ace by graduate setter Carly Cooper. Kills were exchanged by both teams to bring the score to 16-7 Northeastern. Daniels added a dominant block. Both teams exchanged points for the rest of the set, but it was clear Northeastern was not going to be stopped. 

With the score 22-11 Northeastern, the Huskies went on a three-point run to win the set 25-11, ending it on a kill by Gennari.

While the second set was essentially Northeastern’s from the beginning, the third set was a different story, with much more back and forth between the teams and several costly mistakes. 

The Huskies won the first point of the set off a kill by Cooper from a lack of communication on William & Mary’s part that was quickly answered with a kill by Meyers. Quickly, two messy plays by Northeastern and another kill by Meyers put the Tribe up 4-1. 

Northeastern added a point off a kill by Smith, but the Tribe quickly returned two points of their own to bring the set to 6-2 William & Mary. A kill by Stavrinides gave serving control back to the Huskies and, as had been the theme throughout the game, with Koanui serving, Northeastern found a rhythm and went on a scoring streak. 

With three kills, an attack error and another ace by Koanui, the Huskies took control of the lead 7-6. A kill by Meyers and an attack error by Stavrinides put the Tribe back in the league, but not for long. Stavrinides, with a light tap of the ball over the net, found a gap in the middle of the court that the Tribe just watched hit the floor. On the next point, the Tribe had thought they had already won the point when Northeastern got the ball back up and to the other side. The Tribe was unprepared and hit the ball out of bounds to bring the score to 9-8 Northeastern.

The Tribe added one more point to tie it up until Northeastern went on a three-point run to bring the score to 12-9 Northeastern and William & Mary called a timeout. Both teams added points until Northeastern went on yet another three-point streak, and William & Mary used their last timeout of the set with the score 16-10. 

William & Mary scored the first two points out of the time out, but Northeastern scored five consecutive points to bring the score 21-12. While it seemed like the game was under the Huskies’ control, the Tribe was not falling that easily. They added four points of their own until Northeastern called a timeout to try and regather themselves with their lead beginning to slip. 

Out of the timeout, the Tribe continued to cut the Huskies’ lead until the score was 21-18. A kill by Smith and a block by Daniels and Nelson put the Huskies ahead by five. A kill by freshman outside hitter Devereaux Hoxsie right off Cooper’s face cut the lead to four, but Stavrinides was quick to answer back with a powerful kill to bring it to set point. A spike out-of-bounds by the Tribe gave the Huskies the set and ended the game in an exciting clean sweep. 

The Huskies’ next game is on Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. at Hofstra (9-5, 5-1 CAA). The Huskies will look to continue their winning streak, as well as break the Pride’s five-game streak.