Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – Central Florida made quick work of the Northeastern women's volleyball team as the hosts of the 2014 Radisson-UCF Invitational ran away with a 3-0 victory (25-16, 25-14, 25-15) over the Huskies on Saturday, Aug. 30.
 
Freshman setter Kristen Walding was the lone Husky to finish with double figures in the match, tallying 11 assists on the afternoon.
 
Northeastern's offense took a back seat against UCF as the Huskies managed to collect only 23 kills on 98 attempts with 21 attacking errors for a .020 match hitting percentage. Senior middle hitter Ava Cramp and sophomore Jamie Bredahl each led NU with seven kills, while freshman newcomer Brigitte Burcescu was third on the team with five kills.
 
The Huskies struggled trying to stop Central Florida's attack as the Knights hammered 48 kills on 95 attempts while hitting .358 during the match. Jale Hervey and Kia Bright each threw down 12 kills against the Huskies, while senior DeLaina Sarden hit .421 and had nine kills on just 19 attempts. Northeastern libero Natalia Skiba had difficulty slowing down UCF, managing to grab only six digs in the match.
 
NU kept UCF at bay in the early going, stringing together five out of seven points to take a 5-4 lead in the first game. The Knights would soon take back control, delivering on five kills and an ace to jump in front 10-7 over the Huskies.
 
Northeastern would force UCF to commit three attack errors including a block by Cherylain Dizon and Caterina Rosander, when another kill by Cramp made the NU advantage 13-11.
 
But the lead would quickly disappear for Northeastern as the Knights forced three straight attack errors as a part of a four-point run to take the lead back at 15-13. The UCF defense continued to dominate as the Knights swatted away four more attacks over separate four and five point runs, winning 14 of the final 17 points of the game to grab a 25-16 win.
 
The scoring drought for Northeastern carried over into the start of the second game, as a kill by Bright gave UCF a 6-2 edge. Walding would find Bredahl twice to bring NU within three at 8-5, and two offensive miscues for the Knights saw the Huskies trailing by just two at 9-7.
 
But the attacking game for UCF appeared to be too strong for NU to handle as the Knights dialed up three straight kills and scored eight of the next nine points to open a 17-8 lead, causing Husky head coach Ken Nichols to use both of his two timeouts.
 
Northeastern would go 16 straight points without a kill until Bredahl set up Cramp to make it 19-10, and the Huskies cut the deficit to seven before UCF nabbed their 18th and 19th kills of the set en route to a 25-14 win, and a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The scoring onslaught resumed in the third game after UCF broke a 4-4 tie with six consecutive points on four kills. Walding assisted Bredahl and Burcescu to bring NU back to trail just 12-7, but another four-point run for the Knights all but sealed the match. The Huskies were not able to jumpstart their offensive game, and UCF rolled to a 3-0 victory with a 25-15 win in the third game.
 
Northeastern finished the 2014 Radisson-UCF Invitational with a 1-2 overall record. The Huskies will travel to the Bronx, New York next weekend for the 2014 Rose Hill Classic hosted by Fordham. Northeastern will play Rider and Fairleigh Dickinson on Friday, Sept. 5, and will play Fordham on Saturday, Sept. 6.