Box Score

ELON, N.C. – Following a tough defeat at the hands of UNCW on Friday, the Northeastern women's volleyball team bounced back, and earned its first CAA victory of the 2014 season on Sunday afternoon with a 3-0 (25-21, 26-24, 25-22) win over Elon.
 
Freshman setter Kristen Walding netted the only double-double for the Huskies, collecting 38 assists and 10 digs. Jamie Bredahl picked up 13 digs, nine kills, and three aces, while Brigitte Burcescu also had nine kills.
 
Middle hitter Caterina Rosander connected on seven of 15 attacks with no errors for a hitting percentage of .467, while outside hitter Hannah Fry hit .500 during the match with seven kills, 15 attacks, and no errors.
 
Four players earned 10 or more digs for Northeastern (8-7, 1-1 CAA), most notably Natalia Skiba, who led both teams with 21 digs. Defensive specialist Ashlee Asada also earned 12 digs and an ace on the afternoon.
 
Elon (5-12, 0-2 CAA) saw most of its attacking come from Megan Gravley and Ally Karle. Gravley had a match-high 15 kills as well as nine digs and two blocks, while Karle posted 10 kills on 21 attacks with one error for a hitting percentage of .429. Chelsea Rafetto recorded a double-double for the Phoenix with 31 assists and 15 digs.
 
Northeastern struggled out of the gate in the first set, surrendering two three-point runs to the Phoenix and falling behind 7-3. Burcescu collected her first kill of the match at 7-4, and the Huskies capitalized on two straight Elon attacking errors to pull within one at 7-6.
 
Elon would string together another three-point run to open an 11-7 edge, but the Huskies refused to go away in the first set, and a kill from Bredahl brought the score to 12-9. After Elon won two straight points to lead 14-10, the Huskies went on a five-point run with the help of back-to-back aces by Bredahl.
 
Burcescu and Reiter blocked a Phoenix attack at 18-16, and an Elon attacking error four points later left head coach Mary Tendler calling for timeout, trailing 20-18. Northeastern proceeded to score four of the next six points in the set, en route to a 25-21 win.
 
The Huskies started the second set much like they had ended the first, and a kill by Alexa Armstrong gave NU a 4-2 lead. Elon would win two straight points to tie the set at 4-4, and both teams exchanged points until the Phoenix broke a 9-9 tie with a block, followed by a kill from Gravley.
 
Northeastern retook the lead at 12-11 thanks to a three-point scoring run, but Elon responded with a three-point run of its own, followed shortly by another four-point run to lead 18-13. However, the Huskies answered back with a seven-point run, capped with an ace by Asada, to lead 20-18.
 
Elon continued to keep the pressure on Northeastern, retaking the lead at 21-20, and later 23-22. Despite allowing the Phoenix a set point at 24-23, Walding would find Bredahl and Burcescu to close out the second set, 26-24, and lead the match 2-0.
 
Down 3-1 in the early third set, Walding earned four more assists, connecting with Bredahl once, Burcescu twice, and Fry once to step in front 5-4. Trailing Northeastern 7-6, Elon compiled a four-point run to lead 10-7, and maintained a three-point advantage until 13-10. Rosander and Fry scored back-to-back kills for the Huskies to bring the third set to 13-12, and NU traded points with the Phoenix until Elon led 17-16.
 
Kris Harris sent home two straight kills for Elon to lead 19-16, but the Huskies steamrolled down the stretch, rattling off four in a row to tie the set 21-21. Northeastern ultimately sealed the match later with four straight points to win the third set 25-22.
 
Northeastern will host two fellow CAA conference rivals at Cabot Center this coming weekend in Delaware (Friday, 7 p.m.) and Towson (Sunday, 1 p.m.).