Box Score

NEWARK, Del. – Despite holding the Blue Hens to 20 fewer kills than when both teams had met earlier this season on Oct. 3, the Northeastern women's volleyball team could not quite salvage a road win as Delaware topped the Huskies, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-16), on Sunday afternoon.
 
Northeastern (10-16, 2-10 CAA) saw great offensive performances in the match by three of its freshmen. Brigitte Burcescu and Taylor Reiter each tallied eight kills to lead the Huskies, while first-year setter Kristen Walding posted 25 assists. Reiter and Walding hit .375 and .364, respectively, while Burcescu picked up seven digs and sent over Northeastern's only ace on the afternoon.
 
Senior co-captains Alexa Armstrong and Natalia Skiba both had strong matches for the Huskies. Armstrong tagged six kills and stifled three Blue Hen attacks, while Skiba's team-high 18 digs pushed her over the 550-dig mark in a single season for the second straight year.
 
NU newcomer Cherylain Dizon had four kills for the Huskies, and Ashlee Asada earned nine digs in the match.
 
Delaware (13-14, 6-6 CAA) improved its winning percentage to .500 in conference play and snapped a three-match home losing skid. Alexa Swann led the Blue Hens with 16 kills and a .464 hitting percentage, while Katie Hillman recorded 10 kills, four digs, and three blocks in the contest. Julia Chandler also registered all but two of Delaware's 37 assists.
 
A big swing by Reiter down the line interrupted what was a 6-2 scoring run for Delaware to open the match. Northeastern cut the Blue Hens' lead to one when an ace by Burcescu capped a streak of three unanswered points for the Huskies, but powerful hitting by Delaware's attackers kept the Blue Hens ahead by three, 11-8.
 
After Rosander and Reiter scored back-to-back kills for the Huskies to bring the first set score to 11-10, Delaware raced out to an 18-12 lead off four kills and a block, causing NU head coach Ken Nichols to call a timeout. Northeastern would come within five points at 19-14, but the Blue Hens threw down 15 kills in the first set and hit .275 en route to a 25-18 win.
 
Delaware jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the second set, but a kill by Armstrong sparked a 3-1 run the brought the Huskies back within two, down 6-4. Walding found Burcescu again at 8-6, but the Blue Hens scored four out of the next five points to build a 13-8 advantage.
 
Dizon helped keep the Huskies alive at 16-13 when she hammered two kills that bookended another 3-1 run for NU, but Delaware continued its flawless attacking game. The Blue Hens closed the second set with 14 kills and hit .324 as they took a 2-0 lead in the match with a 25-19 win.
 
Northeastern had difficulty keeping the Blue Hens at bay early in the third set, and back-to-back kills by Swann put Delaware ahead, 5-2. Walding blocked an attack with Armstrong to tie the set at 5-5, and connected with Dizon four points later to level the set again at 7-7.
 
However, Delaware's defense proved to be just as solid as its attacking game, and the Blue Hens forced NU into committing four straight offensive errors. Trailing 15-10, Carmen Costa and Burcescu brought the Huskies to within four points at 15-11, but Delaware extended its lead to eight with a streak of four unanswered points, and ran away with a 25-16 win in the third set.
 
Northeastern returns to Cabot Center for each of its final four matches in the 2014 regular season, and hosts first-place Hofstra on Friday, Nov. 7 at 7 p.m.