BOSTON--The second-seeded Northeastern women's volleyball team will head to the CAA Finals where it will take on No. 1 College of Charleston in the battle for the 2013 conference title on Sunday, Nov. 23, at 1 p.m.
HUSKIES LAST TIMEOUT
The Northeastern women's volleyball team will advance to the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association Volleyball Finals after sweeping UNC Wilmington, 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 27-25), in the semifinals on Saturday, Nov. 23, at North Charleston Convention Center.
With the win, NU holds a perfect 16-0 all-time record against the Seahawks.
Kelly Bacon led the Huskies after recording her 20th double-double of the season with 12 on 29 swings (.345) and 12 digs. Rookie of the Year
Jamie Bredahl notched her seventh season triple-double with 10 attacks (.364), 11 digs and 14 assists. Junior
Ava Cramp and senior
Janelle Tucker tallied seven kills each while middle blocker
Nichole Kurz and counterpart
Caterina Rosander added 11 swings, collectively.
Defensive Player of the Year
Natalia Skiba anchored NU's backcourt with 16 digs, while fourth-year setter
Ina Kamenova threw up a match-best 21 assists and contributed five digs.
Nicole Lott was the only Seahawk to hit in double digits, recording 11 kills as the Huskies held UNCW to a .167 attack percentage.
NORTHEASTERN IN THE CAA CHAMPIONSHIP
Northeastern is making its fourth straight CAA Tournament appearance, and seventh overall. Here's a look at the Huskies' history at the conference tournament:
• Northeastern is 3-6 all-time in the CAA tournamenant.
• The Huskies have appeared in five semifinal games, compiling a record of 3-2.
• NU will make its third apperance in the CAA Finals. Prior to 2013, the Huskies were 0-2 in the championship match as both loss came at the hands of Delaware.
• Northeastern has never won two games in the same tournament.
COUGARS LAST TIMEOUT
Top-seeded College of Charleston swept fifth-seeded Hofstra 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-21) in the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament semifinals to advance to the CAA volleyball title match.
The Cougars (24-5) never trailed past a 3-2 margin in any set, and hit .337 to down the Pride (17-15). CofC terminated 42 kills and made six blocks.
It was a day for lucky number 13 as the win guaranteed College of Charleston its 13th-straight appearance in a conference tournament title match. The Cougars won the CAA regular season with a 13-1 conference record. The sweep was also the 13th sweep of the season, led by Darcy Dorton's 13 kills.
The CAA Player of the Year, Dorton hit .333 on her way to a team-high 13 terminations. Sophomore Melissa Morello finished with 10 kills and eight digs, hitting .360.
Junior Sloane White made seven kills, including her seventh match-winner of the season, exciting the crowd with a monster kill. Senior Emily Neideffer made six kills on nine swings (.667) and classmate Kerstin Koehler finished with three blocks. Andi Zbojniewicz led the Cougars with 11 digs.
Hofstra's Nuria Lopes da Silva played valiantly for the Pride, launching 15 kills for a hitting percentage of .321. All-CAA First Teamer Kelsie Wills had eight kills, but made five errors for a .136 attacking mark.
SCOUTING THE COUGARS
The Cougars celebrated their first season in the CAA by defeating their first 11 conference opponents, before losing on home court on Senior Day to Northeastern. The Huskies came from behind, 0-2, to win the match 3-2 against the regular season champions.
College of Charleston started the season with an eight-game winning streak, and finished with an overall record of 23-5, 13-1 in the CAA. The tournament host was 12-3 at TD Arena.
CofC led the CAA in hitting percentage (.261), assists (13.08 per set) and kills (14.01 per set). Redshirt senior middle blocker Kerstin Koehler (.343) was sixth in the league in blocks (1.03 per set) and redshirt junior right side Cara Howley (.320) led the CAA in aces (0.31 per set). Only four CAA players hit over .300, a trio from CofC and Northeastern's
Nichole Kurz.
2013 CAA Player of the Year Darcy Dorton was dominant as an outside hitter, finishing the regular season second in the CAA in both kills (3.61 per set) and points (4.03 per set). Libero Andi Zbojniewicz was fifth in the conference with 3.56 digs, while setters Kallie McCown (5.90) and Taeler Davis (5.49) were fourth and fifth in assists, respectively.
While in the Southern Conference, the Cougars made 13 postseason appearances, reaching 12 semifinals, 10 finals, and claiming seven titles. They claimed last years crown and also advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament. They have made seven NCAA appearances since 2002 and have advanced to the second round twice.
HUSKIES COLLECT ALL-CAA ACCOLADES
Five members of the NU volleyball team collected conference hardware at the CAA Banquet on Thursday night in Charleston, S.C.. Freshman
Jamie Bredahl led the way for the Huskies with All-CAA second team, All-Rookie Team, and was awarded CAA Rookie of the Year. Junior libero
Natalia Skiba earned conference Defensive Player of the year for the second time as well as All-CAA second team.
Senior
Kelly Bacon was named to the All-CAA First Team for the second time, while
Nichole Kurz and
Ina Kamenova picked up an All-CAA Third Team selection.
Bredahl is the fourth Northeastern player to receive Rookie of the Year honors and the third in the last four years. The freshman setter did not miss a set this season and provided stability in all phases of the game for the Huskies. She registered 254 kills (2.21 per set), 586 assists (5.10 per set), 216 digs (1.88 per set) and 48 blocks. The Parker, Colo., native enters the championship tied for second in Division I amongst freshmen for double-doubles with 15 and is tied for the lead in triple-doubles with six and earned four Rookie of the week honors throughout the season.
Skiba, who also won CAA Defensive Specialist of the Year honors as a freshman in 2011, has consistently been one of the top liberos in Division I this season. She was ranked in the top-10 for a large majority of the year in the digs per set category, entering the championship ranked eighth in Division I with 5.63 per set. Skiba played in all 115 sets for the Huskies through the regular season and totaled a league-high 648 digs.
Bacon, who earned the 2012 Player of the Year award, led the Huskies in kills on 19 occasions this season. She notched a career-best 24 kills twice against UNCW and St. John's and recorded a career-high 22 digs versus Charleston. The Temecula, Calif., native tallied 19 double-doubles, a single season best, and notched nine 15+ kill games.
Kurz earns All-Conference honors for the second time after recording a .300 hitting percentage or higher in 15 matches, including seven over .500. The middle blocker led the team in kills against UNH and led in blocks on 15 occasions.
THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH
After the departure of its top two performers from last season, including
Nicole Bishop, Northeastern welcomed 7 freshmen to the 2013 squad. The group, made up of one setter, one middle, one outside hitter, and two defensive specialists.
COMFORT AT CABOT
Since the start of the 2011 season, the Huskies own a 28-3 record at home, tallying the best home-winning mark in the CAA since the 2011 slate. This year, Northeastern has racked up an 9-2 home-court record.
STOPPING THE ATTACK
Since the start of conference play, Northeastern has held its CAA opponents to just a .148 hitting percentage, ranking the Huskies first in the conference.
SIZZLIN' BACON
Kelly Bacon recorded a career-high 24 kills in Northeastern's victory over St. John's on Sunday, Sept. 22 and once again talling 24 swings against UNCW/ Bacon has led the team in kills in 19 of the 28 outings this season and has tallied 19 double-doubles to mark a single-season best.
CHART TOPPERS
Libero
Natalia Skiba led the CAA in digs for the entire season and enters the tournament ranked eighth in the country for digs per set. The junior has recorded 649 digs, marking 5.64 digs per set.
Kelly Bacon ranks third in the CAA with a 3.46 kills per set average and third in the league for points per set. Middle blocker
Nichole Kurz falls fourth on the CAA performance chart with her .301 hitting percentage. Setter
Ina Kamenova ranks first for total assists and second, tallying 6.19 assists per set. In conference play, rookie
Jamie Bredahl sits sixth in the CAA with a .291 hitting percentage and is tied for first in Division I among rookies with 15 double-doubles this season.
MR. 300
Now in his 17th year as a head coach, Nichols owns a 314-202 career record, including a 261-162 record in 14 seasons at Northeastern. Nichols' 300th win came when the Huskies defeated Boston College, 3-1, on Friday, Sept. 20.
LUCKY NUMBER SEVEN
The NU volleyball program, which started in 1974, achieved its 700th win since the inception last season on Nov. 10, 2012, with a 3-0 sweep over George Mason.
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