Box Score

Boston—A sturdy defense and strong attack led the Northeastern volleyball (8-7, 1-1 CAA) team to its first Colonial Athletic Association victory of the season with a 3-0 sweep (25-23, 25-21, 25-15) over UNC Wilmington (11-5, 0-2 CAA) on Saturday night at Cabot Center. 

Freshman Jamie Bredahl recorded the only double-double of the match, posting 10 kills on 18 swings (.389) and 11 assists. Senior outside hitter Kelly Bacon manned the net with a match-best 12 kills, while adding nine digs and a service ace. Senior Hanna Gibeau helped to light up the offense with eight kills, tallying an impressive .333 hitting percentage.

Junior libero Natalia Skiba anchored the Northeastern defense, finishing with a match-high 21 digs and a service ace, while fourth-year setter Ina Kamenova threw up a match-best 24 assists.

After the Huskies took the first point of the match, the two teams alternated points through the first seven exchanges. Northeastern took a quick 4-3 lead, but the Seahawks broke out with five straight for an 8-4 advantage.

Trailing 18-21, momentum shifted to the Huskies' court as they utilized a five-point tear to take a 23-21 lead powered by three Bacon kills and an ace from Briana Hollis. Northeastern took early control of the match, closing out the first frame, 25-23.

Bacon continued her strong play into the second stanza with two early swings to put the Huskies up 2-1, but UNCW used another four-score tear to go on top, 5-3. The Huskies took the next three points to regain a 6-5 advantage, however, the Seahawks responded with three of their own to jump ahead, 8-6.

Facing a three-point deficit, Northeastern took advantage of three UNCW errors and a Gibeau kill to go ahead, 11-, before surrendering another three straight points.

A Bredahl kill evened the set, 13-13, and the Huskies never looked back, pushing a 9-1 stretch to force UNC Wilmington into a huddle. The Seahawks responded with three straight points to close the gap to within three, but it was not enough to stop Northeastern from taking a 25-21 second-set victory.

Northeastern kicked off the eliminating set by pushing six straight points for an early 6-0 advantage. The Seahawks countered by snatching the next two points, but Northeastern rattled another 6-0 run to take a commanding 12-2 lead.

Despite Northeastern maintaining a 10-point lead the majority of the way, the UNCW showed signs of life with a five-point stretch.

Ahead 20-14, the Huskies took another four straight to push UNCW to match point. The Seahawks threw down one final point before Bredahl ended the match with her 10th kill of the night.

The Huskies will be back in action on Friday, Oct. 4, when they hit the road to take on CAA rival, Delaware. Northeastern will then head to Towson, Md., to face Towson on Saturday, Oct. 5.

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