By Nathan Vaughan

After consecutive sweeps of George Mason and James Madison this weekend, the volleyball team has clinched a berth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) playoffs. With a record of 15-9 (9-1 CAA), the first-place Huskies hold a two-game lead over William ‘ Mary, Virginia Commonwealth and Hofstra, who are all tied for second place. Their magic number to clinch home court for the CAA playoffs is three.

This past Friday, the Huskies were looking to bounce back from a disappointing weekend in which they were swept by Hofstra and lost in five to Fairfield. They took on George Mason at Solomon Court and started off strong, winning the first set easily 25-18 and taking the next set 25-21 behind the solid serving of junior libero Leah Neubeck. They pulled out the third set 25-20. Senior opposite hitter Lauren DeTurk and sophomore middle hitter Catilin Tittl led the Huskies, hitting .542 and .357 for the game, respectively.

Going into the match yesterday, the Huskies had a magic number of one to clinch a playoff spot, needing a win or a loss by James Madison. NU took the first two sets, 25-20 and 25-15, setting up a third set in which James Madison was playing for its playoff life. The Dukes fiercely tried to battle back, and fought with the Huskies to a 24-24 mark, at which point head coach Ken Nichols brought in sophomore defensive specialist Helene Servillon to serve for senior outside hitter Brianna Seitz. Servillon was solid from behind the service line, putting both of her serves in to allow the Huskies to complete the win, 26-24.

“It’s hard to know when you are going to be put in, you always have to be ready,” Servillon said. “In the past when I haven’t been clutch in practice I’ve come through in the game. I have this mentality. When you get in you have to shake off the chills you might get. You have to suck it in, play relaxed and not have nerves.”

This weekend NU was lead by DeTurk. She had 23 kills, 21 digs and four service aces. Sophomore setter Britney Brown also shined for the Huskies with 17 kills, 32 sets and 13 digs. Tittl was instrumental with her blocks this weekend, with three solo blocks and five block assists, and her 12 kills helped the team immensely.

“Every team in conference is a threat, and everyone is gunning for us since they have nothing to lose,” Tittl said. “We have to figure out all of their weaknesses to find the best way to beat them.”

Next weekend the Huskies make their final road trip of the regular season, heading to Delaware for a Friday match at 7 p.m. They then go to Towson to play their second match in 24 hours at 5 p.m.

“We talked a little bit about what it takes to win championships,” Nichols said. “We had to take it up a notch, they took it up two.”