BOSTON – Northeastern women's volleyball closes out their five-match, five-state road series with the Delaware Blue Hens on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. and the Charleston Cougars on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 2 p.m., a match originally scheduled for Oct. 4.
Match four and five of fiveIt's the first time since the program's opening CAA campaign that the Red and Black will have five consecutive road matches in five different states. The last time five or more straight contests took place in different states was in 2005: Maryland, Delaware, New York, Connecticut and Virginia. The Huskies are seeking their first win of the series and are coming off of two, four-set losses against James Madison and Towson.The approachNortheastern turned in comebacks against the Dukes and Tigers, both in the third set, to rally on to four-set contests. The Huskies were mere points away from going on to a fifth stanza, especially against Towson, 26-28. Following the two losses, head coach
Ken Nichols and the team cooked up drills with pressure situations to work on surviving errors. The Red and Black's approach for Delaware and Charleston will be to play with controlled aggression and stepping-up when the going gets tough.
Comeback queensAfter a lower body injury for Cherylain Dizon sprouted in the Huskies match vs. UNCW, the sole senior bounced back in the Red and Black's vs. James Madison and Towson to own the NU offense. Dizon registered 12 kills against the Dukes and a team-high 11 kills against the Tigers. Taylor Reiter shined in her comeback matches after an upper body injury stalled her early on this season. Reiter was a key player in the Huskies' contest with JMU, closing point gaps and attacking at the right moment. The sophomore tallied six kills between JMU and Towson and hit at .231 vs. the Dukes. Extra, extraThe Huskies have pushed eight sets to extra points in six matches this season. Of the eight, stanzas, NU has won five. The Huskies' last three matches have gone beyond 25 points in the third set and once in the fourth set, which was against Towson on Oct. 11, 28-26, in favor of the Tigers. Back-to-backBrigitte Burcescu and Kristen Walding recorded back-to-back double-doubles in the Huskies' most recent matches. Burcescu tabbed 12 kills and 12 digs against the James Madison, and another 10 kills and 11 digs against Towson. Walding racked in 19 assists and 12 digs vs. the Dukes, and 21 assists and 11 digs vs. the Tigers. Top-10Jamie Bredahl and Ashlee Asada cracked into the CAA's top-10 for digs per set and aces per set. Bredahl earned a spot with .28 aces per set and Asada ranked with 3.19 digs per set. All-time vs. DelawareDelaware snagged two matches against NU last season and leads the all-time series, 24-20. The Blue Hens are one of the Huskies' longtime rivals, having clinched the CAA Championship title in 2008 and 2010, both against the Red and Black.
Last time out vs. the Blue HensNortheastern last played Delaware on Nov. 2, 2014. The Huskies took a 3-0 loss on the Blue Hens' home domain, but saw great offensive performances from their rookies. The match leaders were:
Kristen Walding | 25 assists
Natalia Skiba '15 | 18 digs
Brigitte Burcescu | 8 kills
Taylor Reiter | 8 kills
Alexa Armstrong '15 | 3 blocks
Delaware 2014 recapThe Blue Hens made their eighth appearance in nine seasons in the CAA Tournament. The team faced UNCW in the postseason for the first time in program history, but unfortunately took a 3-1 loss against the Seahawks. Delaware ended the season 15-17 and 8-8 in the association and graduated no seniors from the roster.
This fall for the Blue HensDelaware enters play vs. the Huskies after a 3-0 loss against William & Mary on Monday (Friday night's match results not available at time of publication). Their last conference win was 3-1 over Elon on Oct. 10, which is also NU's last CAA victory in the same number of sets.
Head coach Bonnie Kenny enters her 14th season with the Blue Hens and returns six starters from last year's squad and welcomes four first-years. Fueling the offense is Katie Hillman with 2.61 kills per set and Autumn Jenkins with 2.62 kills per set. Delaware's lead setter is Julia Anderson with 9.12 assists per set, and on the defense is Ariel Shonk with 5.16 digs per set and Alexa Swann with 79 total blocks.
All-time vs. CharlestonCharleston leads the all-time series 4-1 since joining the CAA in 2013. Despite two, four-set losses against the Cougars last season, Northeastern is one of only three teams to have defeated the South Carolina team in league competition.
Last time out against the CougarsNU had one of its best defensive matches against Charleston on home court, Nov. 12, 2014. Although the Huskies took a 3-1 loss, the match was highlighted by
Natalia Skiba '15 becoming the first player in program history to have achieved multiple 600-dig seasons in her career. The night's leaders were:
Natalia Skiba '15 | 32 digs
Jamie Bredahl | 24 assists
Brigitte Burcescu | 20 kills
Caterina Rosander | 9 blocks
Charleston 2014 recapCollege of Charleston was one win shy of their third straight NCAA Tournament appearance last season. The Cougars fell to Hofstra in five sets during the CAA title match, concluding the 2014 campaign 23-10 overall and 14-2 in the association. The squad was ranked in six statistical categories and reached the finals with one of the most successful graduating classes in program history.
This fall for the CougarsThe Cougars enter this weekend at 11-8 overall and 3-2 in the league (Friday and Sunday's results not available at time of publication). CofC is on the prowl for their 15th consecutive conference title under head coach Jason Kepner in his ninth season with the Cougars. This season's returning lineup features Melissa Morello, who averages 3.77 kills per set, Allison Beckman with 8.86 assists per set and Britney Vallez with 4.26 digs per set.
Home boundNortheastern returns to Cabot Center on Friday, Oct. 23 to see the Charleston Cougars at 7 p.m. in the Huskies' second go-around of CAA play. The Red and Black will then host the UNCW Seahawks for a 1 p.m. match on Sunday, Oct. 25.
