Box Score

Postgame interview (with Ken Nichols and Kelly Bacon)

Behind a team-high 21 kills from junior outside hitter Kelly Bacon, the Northeastern women's volleyball team improved to 9-3 on Friday night, knocking off the Boston College Eagles in four sets (25-18, 25-20, 20-25, 25-21), and remain a perfect 3-0 at Solomon Court.

Bacon's 21 kills marked a career-best, and the Temecula, Calif., native also notched her third double-double of the season, second consecutive, with 15 digs. Junior Nichole Kurz chipped in nine kills and four blocks and sophomore setter Jillian Briner added eight kills, 22 assists and seven digs. Sophomore libero Natalia Skiba recorded a match-best 25 digs while third-year setter Ina Kamenova led the way with 26 helpers.

Senior Jasmine Marta also displayed her veteran presence with some big kills down stretch and totaled seven on the evening alongside one block. Sophomore transfer Ava Cramp attained five kills and two blocks.

Boston College took the first point of the match but Briner sliced up the Eagles' defense to the back left corner to initiate the standoff that took place midway through the first set.

Northeastern faced a 6-3 deficit, but Bacon and senior captain Niciole Bishop teamed up to knot it up, 6-6. Bacon tossed down a big kill down the middle and followed it up with a service ace. Bishop obtained the Huskies' sixth point after slamming down the leather nearside to fool BC's blockers.

The Eagles claimed another three-point advantage, 9-6, but back-to-back Cramp and Kurz kills along with a BC ball handling error tied it up once again, 9-9. After Briner forced the fifth the first set, 14-14, Northeastern took over and throttled the Eagles down the stretch. The Huskies went on an 11-4 run to pick up the 25-18 first set triumph. Bacon dominated down the stretch and registered four kills in the Huskies' 11-4 jaunt.

After a Bacon attacking error to start the first set, the junior made up for it with a strong swat after a BC error to take the 2-1 lead and Northeastern never trailed in the set from that point on.

Bishop and Briner nudged the count out to 4-2 with a kill and service ace, respectively, to set the second stanza's tempo. Northeastern's defense forced multiple Boston College errors and the Huskies eventually built a six-point buffer, 14-8; its largest of the match. Briner, Bishop and Bacon provided the offense down the stretch and never let Boston College within three points.  After a Kurz kill to make it 22-16, NU, the Eagles tried to make it a match after a Courtney Castle kill, but Kameron McLain's wayward attack sealed BC's fate to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead in the match after a 25-20 win.

Northeastern jumped out to a 4-1 lead in the third set after a pair of attacking errors from the Eagles. Two kills from Bacon and Cramp gave the Huskies a 9-5 edge, but BC battled to get back within one at 12-11. Marta's kill pushed the NU lead back to 14-12 and forced an Eagles timeout midway through the set.

The Eagles rattled off a 4-1 run following the timeout to take their first lead of the set at 16-15. After a service error tied the contest back up, BC went on another 4-1 run and forced a Northeastern timeout, trailing 20-17.

The teams traded points out of the timeout, before a kill by BC's Kameron McLain gave the Eagles their biggest lead of the set at 22-18. Kills from Bishop and Bacon brought NU back within three, but BC closed out the set with a final score of 25-20.

The Huskies started the fourth set strong again, taking a 10-5 lead on kills from Marta, Bacon and Kurz. The Huskies continued to push the pace in the set, as a pair of kills from Briner and Bacon had NU up 15-7 following a BC timeout. The Eagles hung around and pulled within five at 22-17. Another Bacon kill brought NU to the brink, and with NU leading 24-21, an Eagles' service error gave Northeastern the match in four sets.

Northeastern continues its eight-game homestand tomorrow with a pair of games against Harvard and Connecticut, respectively, at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m. tomorrow at Solomon Court. The Huskies will also host a pair of neutral games in between at 1 p.m. (UConn vs. BC) and 5 p.m. (BC vs. Harvard) as part of the New England Classic tournament.

Tonight's game can be watched anytime in high definition at GoNUxstream. Fans who cannot make it to Solomon Court tomorrow can tune into GoNUxstream for a free, live HD stream.

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