Box Score

BOSTON – In the final match of the 2014 regular season, the Northeastern women's volleyball team had difficulty navigating a talented James Madison attacking squad, as the Dukes topped the Huskies, 3-0 (25-17, 25-22, 25-19), Saturday afternoon on Senior Day.
 
Co-captain Alexa Armstrong ended her Husky career with one of her best matches of the year, powering home seven kills and registering five blocks above the net. Armstrong also led NU with a .412 hitting percentage.

Fellow team captain Natalia Skiba added 16 digs to her Northeastern all-time dig record (2,382), and finished the season with 655 digs, second most in a single-season behind her own record of 684. This is the third straight year that Skiba will enjoy a digs per set average greater than 5.50.

Seniors Ava Cramp and Megan Kehoe also had strong performances during their final match in the red and black. Cramp landed seven kills and picked up four digs, while Kehoe collected six digs and had two assists.
 
Brigitte Burcescu closed out the season with another double-digit kill display, as the freshman from Cortlandt Manor, New York threw down 11 kills and tallied seven digs. Jamie Bredahl and Kristen Walding combined for 25 of the Huskies' 32 assists on the afternoon.
 
James Madison (16-13, 8-8 CAA) saw two attackers hit the 15-kill mark in Janey Goodman and Meghan Niski. Sarah Patterson recorded a double-double with 38 assists and 13 digs, while Taylor Austin had a match-high 21 digs.
 
Kristi Richardson plagued Northeastern (10-20, 2-14 CAA) early in the first set when she dialed up back-to-back aces to put the Dukes ahead, 4-1. After a kill by Burcescu brought the Huskies to within three again at 9-6, the Dukes began to pull away, and a streak of six unanswered points saw James Madison take command of the set, up 15-6.
 
NU would manage to score five out of the next seven points, and a block by Armstrong and Walding helped cut the gap to six at 17-11. However, the Dukes were content on siding-out the rest of the way, and held off the Huskies to win the first set, 25-17.
 
James Madison broke a 3-3 tie in the second set with a 6-2 scoring run to go up 9-5, and two more kills by Goodman increased the Dukes' lead to 11-6. However, Armstrong helped drive Northeastern back to tie the set at 12-12, capping off a streak of five unanswered points with two consecutive blocks followed by a kill.
 
Trailing 17-15, Cramp threw down a kill to bring the Huskies within one at 17-16, but James Madison rattled off four straight points to open up a 21-16 advantage. Three successive kills by Rosander, Armstrong, and Cramp would tighten the set at 21-19, but the Dukes continued to find holes in the NU defense, and won the second set, 25-22.
 
Northeastern started the third set on a 3-0 scoring run, but James Madison was quick to answer back, and soon tied the set at 6-6. Rosander put the Huskies in front by two at 8-6 with a block solo, but the Dukes continued to execute offensively, and retook the lead at 10-9.
 
After another kill by Burcescu brought the score to 13-12, James Madison jumped out to a 16-12 edge courtesy of several strong serves by Niski. NU would come as close as two points at 17-15, but James Madison would roll down the stretch, winning the third set, 25-19, and the match, 3-0.
 
Although Saturday afternoon marks the end of the 2014 season for Northeastern, the Huskies will head into the offseason with a bright future ahead of them as the team begins its preparation for another exciting season in the fall of 2015.