By Nathan Vaughan
The women’s volleyball team returned to winning ways Tuesday night with a straight set sweep of the Rhode Island Rams. With the win, the Huskies finish their extended road trip with a 3-7 record.
NU has been on the road for 13 of 19 days since the season began and is the last Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) team to host a game. The Huskies are eighth in the CAA, ahead of the preseason pick to win the conference – Delaware. Northeastern has had one of the toughest schedules among CAA teams, facing the highest ranked team in No. 2 Nebraska.
In terms of difficulty, head coach Ken Nichols likened URI to Army and Syracuse from last weekend, whom the Huskies lost to.
Heading into the match, NU was on a seven-game and six-set losing streak. The start of the match was back and forth with unforced errors from both sides of the net. In the early going junior setter Jessica Tkachuk kept the Huskies afloat with a pair of solo blocks,’ two kills and her always-consistent setting.
“We put it behind us but it made us more hungry for a win. It didn’t affect us negatively, it helped us want to win more,” Tkachuk said.
Northeastern held an early lead but let it slip away. URI took command for a while, and the game was knotted at 15 apiece. From this point on the largest lead of the set was two. NU eventually won, 26-24, having to play an extra point to decide the set.
After winning the first set Northeastern maintained its momentum, for the most part controlling the second set, which it went on to win it 25-21. URI came back to tie a few times but never led by more than one. The key to the victory for NU was the dramatic drop in unforced errors – from 11 hitting errors in the first set to five in the second.
Like the first set, the third set was a battle, as NU took a lead but Rhode Island managed to stick around. By this point, the Huskies offense had found it’s groove in pounding the Rams with 17 kills, while only committing four hitting errors. This high percentage proved to be too much for URI to handle and the Huskies went on to take the match in straight sets.
“It was the unforced errors more than any other variable. Our unforced errors were down in the second set. We hoped to make a conscientious progression and make even fewer in the third but that wasn’t exactly what happened,” Nichols said. ” We scored their first five points for them with unforced errors, serves into the net, hits out of bounds and we dug ourselves a hole.”
After starting off missing her hits Lauren DeTurk came back to lead the match in kills with 13, the only player to achieve double digits. Caitlin Tittl had the second highest mark in the match with nine. Leah Neubeck led all players with 11 digs.
With the win, Northeastern can look ahead to the Mass Challenge, which the Huskies are hosting. They can also look forward to the return of senior opposite Sarah Stein, who is preparing to return from emergency jaw surgery after missing the last four matches. Stein is one of the team’s leading hitters with a 1.90 kills/game average, good for third, and should provide a boost to the team fresh off the snapping of the losing streak. The tournament also marks the Huskies’ first home match in seven games, prompting excitement from some of the players.
“It is definitely nice to be home and not have to worry about getting team meals and flying and driving everywhere,” Tkachuk said. “We’ll all be in our own places relaxed more.”
Nichols said he is confident in the team heading into the tournament, and said NU should match up well against both Boston College and Holy Cross.
Nichols specifically identified BC as a team he felt his team should beat.
“They are a formidable team but we’ll find a way. I have every confidence in our ability to get a little payback,” Nichols said.
In the upcoming tournament, Northeastern will have a chance to even the score with crosstown rival BC. After a disappointing matchup last year, NU is out to avenge their loss. The Huskies will also be playing Holy Cross. The school that was supposed to be the third competitor, St. Francis, dropped out of the tournament.
NU will open the tournament Saturday against BC at 1 p.m. The Huskies will then have a break and finish up with Holy Cross at 7 p.m. Both games will be played on Solomon Court in the Cabot Center. During the Huskies’ break BC will be playing a second consecutive match against Holy Cross at 4 p.m.
