By Nathan Vaughan
For the first time in almost a month and a half, the volleyball team dropped a match. But it didn’t stop there, as the Huskies extended their skid to two yesterday.
On Saturday the team was unable to defend its home turf at Solomon Court and was swept by Hofstra, their 30th loss to the Pride since 1982. During the loss, senior captain and outside hitter Lauren DeTurk became the sixth Husky to reach 1,000 kills and digs.
NU then lost a nail-biter yesterday in five sets to Fairfield in their final non-conference match.
“There is this mystique, it’s Hofstra,” said senior opposite hitter Sarah Stein. “Sometimes going against this team we over think our game plan. We need to think of them as any other team. We need to fight through this and win [the] conference.”
The night before the match between the Huskies and the Pride, Hofstra changed its setter. With the change in setter, there was a distinct uptick to the offensive pace. Hofstra’s offense was much faster, unlike the last time when they had a slower attack. With the Huskies unable to adjust to the faster attack, Hofstra went on a 7-0 run mid-set and went on to win 25-15, the first time the Huskies lost a set at home.
In the second set, Northeastern’s play was more focused. Throughout the set they would take leads, though they allowed Hofstra to come back each time. Hofstra used another 7-0 run to take the second set 25-18.
In the third set the Huskies started strong, but the Pride kept the set close. There were nine ties in the set, which went into extra points. Northeastern lost 27-25.
After the Hofstra game head coach Ken Nichols emphasized his team’s need to adjust. Their ability to adjust was put to the test against Fairfield.
“If we had adjusted quicker against Fairfield we probably would’ve won in four,” Nichols said. “Bottom line is we have to adjust quicker, or play with more heart.”
The Huskies were unable to jump on the Stags to start the match. Fairfield was able to quickly get up 2-0 in sets, winning 25-19 and 25-22 in the first and second sets, respectively.
With the possibility of being swept, and not winning a set in a weekend for the first time this season, the Huskies regrouped and were able to take an early lead in the third set. NU led by five at the 12-7 mark. The lead never got below three and the Huskies held on to win 25-20.
The fourth set was more of the same for the Huskies. Northeastern went on multiple runs to take a commanding lead and never let Fairfield into the set, winning 25-16.
Going into the fifth set full of hope, the Huskies got off to an early and commanding 8-3 lead in the set. However, Leah Neubeck, a junior libero, was forced to leave the court after being elbowed in the eye, causing her to bleed. This allowed Fairfield to get back into the match.
Nichols received a yellow card at the end of the set after arguing a blatantly missed net infraction call that gave Fairfield a 14-13 lead. The Stags won 15-13 to win the match.
The Huskies had three players with double-doubles yesterday, led by DeTurk who had 17 kills and 21 digs. Sophomore setter and opposite hitter Britney Brown had 13 kills and 22 sets and junior setter Jessica Tkachuk had 23 sets and 15 digs.
“I don’t think we were very prepared for this weekend,” DeTurk said. “We haven’t had real practices lately for a few reasons. We need to practice how we want to play.”
The Huskies return to conference play hosting George Mason (6-16, 2-7 Colonial Athletic Associaton) Friday at 7 p.m. and James Madison (11-15, 4-5, CAA) Sunday at 1 p.m.
