By Nathan Vaughan
The volleyball team experienced a familiar result this weekend and, as such, remain in a familiar position.
After another pair of sweeps over the cellar-dwellers of the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), Georgia State and UNC Wilmington, the Huskies continued their dominating 11-game winning streak. The Huskies built their CAA leading record to 13-7 (7-0 CAA) and remain in first, where they’ve been all season. They lead both William ‘ Mary and Virginia Commonwealth by 2.5 games in the standings.
It was a milestone weekend for Brown. During the Friday night match against Georgia State she reached the 1,000 set mark. Brown decided to outdo herself Sunday, though, lighting the Seahawks up for 10 services aces. This included five in a run during the first set and four in the second set. This mark broke the Northeastern record for aces in a single match.
“I have to push myself harder on the court and in the weight room, working harder to get all the stuff I missed,” Brown said. “I need to keep on focusing. I look forward to playing Hofstra. They are a very strong team that we get excited and pumped up for.”
Georgia State didn’t start out like their record suggests (1-19, 1-6 CAA), as the Panthers took an early 4-1 lead in the first set. The Huskies came roaring back behind the serving of senior captain and outside hitter Lauren DeTurk. DeTurk led the team on a 8-1 run to take the lead 9-5. GSU tied it up at 10 apiece, and the two teams battled back and forth to 18 each, with neither team having more than a one-point lead during the stretch. Northeastern then took control and won 25-21.
In the second set of the night Northeastern played like the conference-leading team they are. This time it was the Huskies who started off with the 4-1 lead. The NU defense was so stingy that GSU had a negative hitting percentage at -.059, determined by kills minus errors over total attempts. Northeastern rolled over GSU 25-13 in that set.
Going into the third set, Northeastern was looking to close out Georgia State. The Panthers had other ideas and made it a back-and-forth affair until the Huskies had a 4-0 run. GSU brought it back to within one at 13-12, but Northeastern finished off the Panthers, 25-20.
The Huskies concluded homecoming weekend by taking on last place UNC Wilmington.
Northeastern struggled at the beginning, allowing the Seahawks to keep the game tied at five. Then sophomore setter and opposite hitter Britney Brown, this week’s CAA Player of the Week, brought the Huskies back in charge taking the lead 15-5, while having five service aces. During the streak UNCW had to take both of their timeouts, and the second one iced Brown enough to end the run. Despite only hitting .080 the Huskies pummeled the Seahawks, 25-16.
The second set was marred by an early injury to UNCW starting setter Kelsey Bendig when she collided with starting libero Ashlyn Morris. Their heads knocked together and they were both forced to leave the game, and neither returned. The collision happened when NU had a 5-3 lead. The set ended with a Brown ace as the Huskies won 25-12.
Northeastern came out to close the match in the third set, taking an early lead, and never looked back. The Seahawks were able to make a 5-0 run at the end to bring their hitting percentage out of the negatives to zero, but their run fell well short as the Seahawks fell in the final set 25-16.
In both games the Huskies were able to put in substitutes early and often. During the two games every player on the roster saw time in at least one of the matches. The substitutes allowed the normal starters to get some rest and stay fresh for the remainder of the match.
The weekend marked the return of freshman middle hitter Lauryn Ciszek. Ciszek missed five weeks of play due to mononucleosis.
“I loved it. It was harsh having to sit there at practice and watch everyone,” Ciszek said. “I feel like I belong [on the court]. It’s something I work very hard to do. It was hard to get back out there.”
Northeastern starts the second half of its CAA schedule next weekend as they host rival Hofstra Saturday at 1 p.m. They will also travel to Fairfield Sunday to play at 4 p.m.
