Box Score

KINGSTON, R.I.— Behind a career-high nine kills and nine blocks from rookie Caterina Rosander, the Northeastern women's volleyball team improved to 11-7 on Wednesday night, knocking off the Rhode Island Rams in four sets (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-15).

Rosander, who set her previous career-high in kills and blocks against Towson last weekend, posted a match-high .529 hitting percentage. Senior outside hitter Kelly Bacon notched her 10th season double-double with a team-best 14 kills and 11 digs. Senior Janelle Tucker also displayed her veteran presence with key attacks down the stretch, totaling 13 on the evening with nine digs.

Libero Natalia Skiba led the team with 17 digs for the 21st consecutive game, the longest team-high streak of any current player.  Fourth-year setter Ina Kamenova tossed up a team-best 28 assists, while showcasing a strong defensive performance with 11 digs.

Northeastern jumped on the board first and pushed a quick 7-2 lead out of the chute. Rhode Island was not rattled by the Huskies' start and posted a run of its own to even the set, 9-9. A huge right-side swing from Bredahl briefly broke the Rams' momentum, but Rhode Island tallied the next four points to pressure head coach Ken Nichols into a timeout, trailing 13-11.

The two teams evenly exchanged points in the core of the set, but Rhode Island maintained a small lead the entire way. The Huskies utilized their final timeout of the frame in a last-ditch effort to regain the lead, but it was not enough to stop the Rams from closing out the set, 25-22.

The Huskies once again posted a strong start as back-to-back kills from Rosander gave Northeastern a 7-4 advantage. A Rhode Island error and a cross-court swing from Gibeau extended the Huskies' cushion to five, but the Rams went on a five-point run to tie the set, 13-13.

NU maintained a small advantage in the core of the set, but felt pressure when Rhody knotted the set at the 14, 15 and 17 mark. A right-side swat from Cramp gave the Huskies their final lead and a follow-up Bacon kill pushed Rhode Island into its first huddle of the match.

The break proved to be ineffective for the Rams when Briana Hollis immediately served an ace to uphold NU's lead. Bacon and Tucker joined forces and put up two kills to pressure URI into another timeout, but the Huskies evened the match after a 25-21 second-set victory.

A Kurz kill down the middle won the Huskies the first point of the set, but neither team budged for the majority of the frame. Both teams traded possession evenly, tying the set 14 times down the stretch.

Consecutive swats from the outside gave Northeastern its first, two-point lead of stanza. After a Rams' timeout, the Huskies placed pressure on the Rhody offense with back-to-back double blocks.

Rosander landed her ninth kill of the of the match before the Rams put up two errors to seal the deal, 25-20, in the third set.

Four swings from Tucker and a Bredahl right-side attack gave the Huskies a huge 5-0 start in the eliminating set. Rhody posted a single kill, but followed with three consecutive errors to warrant an early timeout.

The break did not slow Northeastern's attack as the Huskies used a 7-5 run, built with three Bacon kills and an ace, to put up a 16-8 advantage. NU held the Rams to just seven points for the remainder of the set to close out the match with a 25-15 victory.

The Huskies return to Cabot Center on Saturday night when they take on reigning CAA tournament champions Hofstra at 4 p.m.

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