Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – After pushing Eastern Kentucky to a fifth set in the opening match of the 2014 Radisson-UCF Invitational, the Northeastern women's volleyball team fell short in the final frame as the Colonels enjoyed a 3-2 win (24-26, 25-19, 25-22, 22-25, 15-11) over the Huskies on Friday, Aug. 29.
 
Preseason All-CAA honoree Jamie Bredahl led Northeastern in its first of three matches this weekend as the sophomore setter recorded her first triple-double of the season with 37 assists, 11 digs, and 10 kills. Her fellow Preseason All-CAA teammate Natalia Skiba locked down the defensive end for NU, registering a match-high 25 digs.
 
Caterina Rosander ignited the Huskies' offense landing 17 kills in 27 attempts, while junior transfer Cherylain Dizon nabbed 12 kills above the net. Senior middle hitter Alexa Armstrong had a strong season debut as well, finishing the match with nine kills and six blocks.
 
NU found great offensive support in the performances of two freshmen, Brigitte Burcescu and Kristen Walding. In her first time wearing the red and black, Burcescu was just one kill shy of collecting a double-double to go along with her 11 digs, while Walding found her teammates 21 times in her first outing as a Husky.
 
Eastern Kentucky senior Abbey Cvelbar plagued Northeastern's defense, as the setter connected on 12-of-23 attacks (.435) and earned 49 assists. Junior outside hitter Johanna Boyer kept the EKU offense cooking, leading the Colonels with 20 kills.
 
Northeastern could not have asked for a better start to the 2014 season, as the Huskies scored five unanswered points to start their first match of the year. The offense continued to dominate in the early going, as NU built a 10-3 advantage in the first game on nine kills and eight assists, leading to an Eastern Kentucky timeout.
 
EKU responded after the break, as the Colonels took four of the next five points to pull within four, but back-to-back kills by Dizon quieted the run. Soon after, Bredahl would set up Cramp and Burcescu to throw down, and the Huskies opened their largest lead of the match at 17-9.
 
The Colonels refused to go away easily in the first, as two aces by senior Dena Ott sparked an 11-4 run that gave EKU its first lead at 22-21. But Northeastern stayed the course, as Bredahl orchestrated the offense and set up Cramp twice to take a late 24-23 lead. After a kill by Boyer tied the set at 24-24, a costly EKU ball handling error gave NU a chance to serve it out, and Armstrong delivered with a kill to seal the game 26-24.
 
Attacking errors weakened the momentum NU had carried over into the second game, as EKU took advantage and jumped out to an 11-4 edge. The Huskies would cut the deficit to five after a pair of kills by Rosander, but the Colonels' third service ace forced Ken Nichols to call timeout, trailing 16-8. Armstrong and Burcescu managed to stifle two consecutive EKU attacks, but a comeback in the second game appeared too steep, as the Colonels won 25-19 to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Three unforced errors right out of the gate for EKU gave the Huskies new life in the third, while NU sported a 9-5 lead on just two offensive kills and one block. Rosander would send back two more Colonel attacks to cap a streak of five straight points, awarding the Huskies a 14-8 lead.
 
However, the NU attack would suddenly go cold, as EKU rattled off eleven of the next fourteen points to take a 19-17 lead in the third. The two teams traded points until 22-22, when a kill by Alexis Plagens and two Husky attacking errors handed EKU the final three points of the set and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
Both offenses would find their form in the fourth set, as Bredahl and Walding found four different Husky attackers in Armstrong, Cramp, Dizon and Rosander, manufacturing a 13-8 lead. EKU would respond with three straight points, but the Huskies maintained their composure and found security in Skiba's veteran defensive plays. EKU would come as close as two points within NU, but two late service errors would seal the game for Northeastern 25-22 and push a decisive fifth set.
 
A quick start for Eastern Kentucky in the final chapter was all but too much to handle for the Huskies, as a 3-1 lead for the Colonels was enough for Nichols to call a break in the action. Cvelbar would connect with Plagens and Boyer as EKU raced out to a 7-4 lead. A kill by Dizon brought NU within one at 8-7 in the fifth, but the Colonels closed out the match with another 7-4 run to take fifth set 15-11, as well as the season opener 3-2.
 
Northeastern plays Florida International tonight at 5 p.m. in the second of three games the team has at the 2014 Radisson-UCF Invitational. The Huskies take on Central Florida on Saturday at 1 p.m. to close out the weekend tournament.