Northeastern volleyball (4-5,0-0 CAA) lost in three straight games to the Fairfield University Stags (5-3, 0-0 MAAC), the Yale University Bulldogs (2-3, 0-0 Ivy League) and the University of Connecticut Huskies (8-1, 0-0 Big East) Sept. 12 to 14.
In its first game of the series, Northeastern lost in four sets to Fairfield. Junior middle blocker Beatrice Gennari led the team in kills with 12 and blocks at six, and senior libero Nadia Koanui led in digs with 18. Both had two aces as well. Freshman setter Sofia King led in assists with 16.
Northeastern opened up the first set with a kill by junior middle blocker Kaylin Daniels, but the Stags quickly answered back. The teams went point-for-point until two three-point runs put Fairfield up 10-6. Northeastern quickly battled back with a four-point run of its own, tying the score at 10-10. The set continued until, with the score 13-12 in Fairfield’s favor, the Stags went on a four-point run to put the Huskies down by five. Northeastern added two more points, but three straight kills for Fairfield put the set further out of reach as they took a 20-14 lead. The Huskies fought to get the set back within three at 22-19, but three kills gave Fairfield the set, 25-20.
The second set seemed to belong to Fairfield most of the way before the Huskies battled back, but it wasn’t enough for them to take the set. Northeastern went up 2-1 in the beginning but quickly fell behind 7-3. With the set 10-6, Northeastern added two to bring the score to 10-8.
The teams went point-for-point before a three-point run put Fairfield up 15-10. However, the Huskies weren’t done yet, going on a five-point run to tie the set at 15-15. Each team added a point before Fairfield took four of the next five points to go up 20-17. As the Huskies added two points off of kills from Gennari, Fairfield answered back with two kills of its own. Northeastern tacked on one point off a service error, but three straight points for Fairfield gave the Stags the set, 25-20.
The third set was a battle as the Huskies fought to stay alive. Fairfield kicked off the set, going up 2-0, but Northeastern quickly went ahead 3-2. The Stags went up 4-3, but a six-point run for Northeastern gave them the lead 9-4. Fairfield wasn’t done, going on a four-point run to cut Northeastern’s lead to 9-8. Northeastern narrowly stayed ahead 12-11 before a four-point run of its own gave the team what seemed to be a comfortable lead at 16-11. Unfortunately for Northeastern, Fairfield took eight of the next nine points to go ahead 19-17.
Fairfield dominated until at set point when, leading 24-21, the Stags gave away three points to tie the score. The Huskies gave up one point but added two more to go ahead 26-25. The excitement continued as Fairfield answered back with a kill to tie the set once again at 26-26. Finally, the Huskies sealed the set and stayed alive after scoring off a kill and an error by Fairfield with a score of 28-26.
The Huskies used their momentum from the third set to propel them ahead in the fourth, taking the first point of the set before both teams went back-and-forth. Then, with the score 4-4, Northeastern scored three in a row to go ahead 7-4.
The Huskies remained ahead until, with the score 11-9, Fairfield added two points to tie the set at 11. Each team added two points to bring the score to 13 until Northeastern took four of the next five points for a 17-14 lead. The Huskies stayed ahead 21-18 with the end of the set in sight until a series of errors on Northeastern’s part and kills for Fairfield allowed the Stags to take over 24-21. Northeastern managed to add a point off of a kill, but its collapse was too much to come back from. A kill gave the Stags the win in four sets.
After the devastating loss to Fairfield, the Huskies were back in action the following night against Yale. Graduate student outside hitter Svenja Rodenbüsch led the team in kills with eight, sophomore setter Arina Sosinovica led in aces with two, King led in assists with 12 and Koanui led in digs with nine.
Sosinovica kicked off the first set with an ace before Yale added two points to go ahead. Northeastern tied the set at 3-3, but Yale took eight of the next nine points to lead Northeastern 11-4. Despite the team’s best efforts, the Huskies never managed to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to less than six and lost the set 25-16.
The second set was a better start for the Huskies as they opened up 2-0 before growing their lead to 5-2. The Bulldogs then took 11 of the next 13 points to go ahead 13-7. Northeastern managed to fight back and bring the Bulldogs’ lead to 17-15, but Yale was dominant, going on a five-point run to lead 22-15. Both teams exchanged kills twice before an attack error on Northeastern’s part gave Yale the set, 25-17.
The third and final set was one of the Huskies’ worst showings of this season. With the set tied 3-3, Yale went on a three-point run to go up 6-3. The Huskies managed to squeeze in a point before Yale had an eight-point streak to increase its lead to 10. Northeastern managed to add on eight more points, but each point was outshined by the Bulldogs’ dominance. A three-point run for Yale gave it the set 25-12 and left Northeastern without a single set win.
The final game of the weekend series was another tough loss for Northeastern in a battle of the Huskies against UConn. Although Northeastern was defeated, the team played much better than it had against Yale, bringing each set close. Rodenbüsch led the team in kills with nine, and redshirt freshman outside hitter Valentina Meirelles led in blocks with three. King and Koanui once again led in assists and digs, respectively.
In the first set, Northeastern opened up scoring, going up 2-0 to start the game. Both teams exchanged points before UConn secured its first lead of the game by taking four of the next five points to go up 5-4. Both teams added a point each before a three-point run for Northeastern gave them the lead, 8-6. The teams once again went back-and-forth until the set was 14-12 Northeastern. UConn then took eight of the next 11 points to go ahead 20-18. The teams went point-for-point again, failing to start a scoring streak until the score was 23-21 in UConn’s favor; the team then strung together two points to take the set 25-21 over Northeastern.
The back-and-forth action continued in the second set. After UConn took the first point, both teams went on four-point runs to bring the score to 5-4 UConn. Northeastern quickly tied it up, but UConn went back ahead, taking three of the next four points to lead 8-6. Each team added a point before both went on three-point runs to bring the set to 12-10. As in the first set, the teams went point-for-point, struggling to string together a streak of points until a two-point streak for UConn put it ahead 17-14. The scoring gap was short-lived as Northeastern immediately fired back with two points of its own. UConn then took seven of the next nine points to bring the set to match point, 24-18. Northeastern battled, scoring four points to bring it to 24-22 UConn. Despite Northeastern’s best efforts, an error by Rodenbüsch gave UConn the last point and ended the second set 25-22.
The game was do-or-die for Northeastern, especially after losing the previous two games, so the team was not going down without a fight. While UConn took the first point of the set, Northeastern was quick to get ahead 2-1. Each team added three points each before a three-point streak for UConn put it up 7-5. The teams then went point-for-point before each going on four-point runs to maintain UConn’s lead at 12-10. The lead stayed until, with the score 15-13 UConn, the Huskies took five of the next six to go up 18-16. The effort was not enough, as UConn took eight of the next 10 to bring the set to game point. Northeastern added one more point, but a kill gave UConn the win, 25-21.
Northeastern will look to bounce back in its first series of conference games against the Stony Brook Seawolves (4-5, 0-0 CAA) Sept. 19 and 20 on Long Island.
