Another weekend split of matches against the University of Hartford and Stony Brook University leaves the Northeastern volleyball team tied for first place in the America East conference, and sets up a decisive face-off against the University of New Hampshire Friday night.

The Huskies (22-8, 10-2) began the two-game homestand with a 3-0 sweep of the University of Hartford Hawks. It was the Hawks’ tenth straight loss, and fifth straight by a score of 3-0.

Junior Rebecca Holland and senior Briana Furch both reached double-digits in kills on the day, with 15 and 10, respectively. Junior setter Kristin Ursillo finished with 42 assists to further cement her place as the conference leader in assists per game, and also tallied five of the team’s eight aces during the match.

Hartford junior Stephanie Volckers led her team’s offense with 16 kills, but eight serve return errors, compared to just two for the Huskies, and a .143 hitting percentage prevented the Hawks, (8-20, 0-12), from taking any of the games.

The Stony Brook Sea Wolves (16-12, 7-4) continue to be a thorn in the side of the America East-leading Huskies, winning a third straight 3-2 match, dating back to last year’s playoffs. And, just like last time, Northeastern took the first game, dropped games two and three, won the fourth, but lost the race to 15 in the fifth.

A well-balanced offensive attack contributed to the Sea Wolves’ victory, as five separate players finished with 10 or more kills. Junior setter Julie Zub continued to be a deciding factor, as she dished out 59 assists in the five-game set.

Freshman Whitney Turner knocked down a team-high 16 kills, and Holland followed with 13 more, but with a hurting Larissa Adomat, an unavailable Jana Kubalova, and a team-wide .107 hitting percentage, the Huskies simply could not capture those last few points.

The upcoming weekend has tremendous playoff implications for the Huskies, as they travel north to face the University of New Hampshire Wildcats Friday night. Both teams sit atop the division with 10-2 in-conference records, and while a previous defeat of the Wildcats gives the Huskies a slight advantage, a loss would drop the team into second place for the first time this season.

The home team has won each of the past five matches between these two squads, so the Huskies will try to defy history to ensure a conference championship as well as an automatic entry into the NCAA tournament.