Box score

Northeastern won its fourth match in a row Friday night by defeating George Mason, 3-0, in Fairfax, Va. The Huskies improved to 14-4 (4-2 CAA) with their 10th sweep of the season.

Sophomore outside hitter Janelle Tucker led the Huskies' attack with 12 kills while adding five digs and a solo block. Classmate Kelly Bacon returned after missing the last five matches with an injury and posted 11 kills, six digs and a solo block. 

Junior middle hitter Nicole Bishop added nine kills and two blocks while sophomore Nichole Kurz notched four kills, six digs and a team-high two service aces.

Rookie Jillian Briner notched a double-double with 16 assists and 10 digs and also tallied eight kills and a service ace. Sophomore setter Ina Kamenova added 21 assists and eight digs while freshman libero Natalia Skiba registered 15 digs.

Bacon and Tucker each posted six kills in the first set to lead the Huskies to a 26-24 victory. The set was a hard fought battle throughout, as the teams kept the score even at eight points early on. Following an 11-11 knot, Northeastern took its largest lead thus far behind two Patriots' errors and a kill from Briner to reach a 14-11 advantage. Noelle Fanella's kill put George Mason back on the board, but the Huskies regained their three-point lead with a kill from Bacon.

The Patriots kept it close and tied the score at 16-16. The teams would go on to tie on three more occasions before the Huskies broke free from a 22-22 knot with a kill from Briner. The Patriots stole the next two points with kills from Kelsey Bohman and Lana Zonjic, to take a 24-23 lead and force Northeastern into a timeout. The break proved to be beneficial for the Huskies, as a kill from Bacon and two Patriots' errors provided Northeastern with the 26-24 win.


Northeastern began the second set trailing 3-1 but quickly evened the score at 3-3 after a Patriots' error and a block from Briner and Bishop. Northeastern extended its run with three additional points off Patriots' errors and a service ace from Kurz to force the Patriots into a timeout at 6-3.

George Mason came out of the break and evened the score at 6-6. This would be a preview of what was to come, as neither team could break away until the Huskies used kills from Briner and Bacon to escape an 18-18 tie.  Tucker's service error brought the set back within one at 20-19, but the Patriots never regained the advantage and the Huskies took set two, 25-22.

The Patriots came out firing in the third set, scoring the first four points with three service aces and a kill from Zonjic. Tucker finally got the Huskies on the board with two consecutive kills. After a George Mason point, Northeastern embarked on a six-point run to take a 9-5 lead before the Patriots called for a timeout.

George Mason struck first after the break and teams traded the next four points, with the Huskies maintaining the advantage. The Patriots received a kill from Laura Spencer and benefited from a Northeastern attack error to close the gap to two points, 14-12, but it was as close as the Patriots would get for the remainder of the contest. Northeastern went on to outscore George Mason 11-4 to close out the set and claim the match victory.

The Huskies return to action tomorrow night in Harrisonburg, Va., to battle James Madison. First serve is set for 7 p.m.