BOSTON – The Northeastern volleyball team opens the 2015 season on the road, competing in the second annual Falcon Classic, hosted by the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado. The team kicks off the weekend against the New Mexico State Aggies at 12 p.m. (EST), followed by the Arizona State Sun Devils at 7 p.m. The Huskies will then face host Air Force Falcons at 12 p.m. and close-out the tournament with the Montana Grizzlies at 7 p.m. The 2015 campaign marks the Huskies' 42nd season and 11th season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA).

Last season
The Huskies posted a 10-20 (2-14 CAA) record in 2014 after handling one of the program's most vigorous schedules in recent history. Northeastern battled in 10 matches against RPI top 100 teams, including four during non-conference play (Central Florida 35th, Northern Iowa 79th, Harvard 81st, TCU 95th). The team also clinched a 3-1 thriller against the University of New Hampshire Wildcats, a team that later advanced to the NCAA tournament. 

Despite finishing seventh in the conference, the red and black appeared in the top five for kills, assists, and digs in the CAA, and offered the second-strongest defense in the league, averaging 15.87 digs per set. Northeastern graduated four Huskies from the 2014 squad, including Natalia Skiba, one of the top defensive players in program history who finished her career No. 7 in the nation for digs per set.                                                          

About the Falcon Classic
The USAFA began a new tradition last year, hosting the Falcon Classic in honor of former Air Force student-athlete, Amy Svoboda. Svoboda, a 1989 Academy graduate and four-year student-athlete, was tragically killed during an A-10 training accident in 1997. She was one of the first 14 female fighter pilots and one of the first six to ever fly the A-10.

All-time against the teams
This year's Falcon Classic brings Northeastern volleyball two new opponents in New Mexico State and Air Force. The Huskies and Sun Devils have a brief history together. They last played each other in 2006 at the Arizona State Invitational, where the Huskies fell 3-0, tallying 61 digs and 37 kills. The teams were neck-and-neck in service aces, but the Sun Devils held a strong offense over the Huskies, posting 52 kills and 46 assists. Northeastern last played Montana in 2009 at the UC Irvine Classic. Although the Huskies lost 3-0, the game featured eight ties and two sets within a three-point margin.

New Mexico State 2014 recap
New Mexico State wrapped up last season 17-11 overall and finished second in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) at 10-4. The team earned the No. 2 seed in post-season conference play, but came up short of clinching their third consecutive WAC title after losing to the No. 3 seed and 2014 WAC champions, Bakersfield, in the semifinals. Despite a season banged up with injuries, the Aggies finished 12th in the nation and first in the WAC in opponent's hitting percentage, holding opponents to a .148 hitting percentage. The team returns a majority of their core group from last year, including senior Taylor Livoti, who led the Aggies with 638 assists, and welcomes six first-years.

Arizona State 2014 recap
Last season marked the second time in the last three years the Sun Devils picked up a 20-win season, going 20-14 overall and 9-11 in Pac-12 play. ASU earned their third consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament, but fell to No. 2 seed Texas in the second round, 3-0. ASU also defeated four nationally ranked opponents, the most in a single season for head coach Jason Watson (No. 17 Hawai'i, No. 9 USC, No. 11 Oregon, and No. 17 UCLA). 

The Sun Devils return nine players from their 2014 roster, including senior Macey Gardner, who led the team with 594 kills and 31 solo blocks, and sophomore libero Halle Harker, who set the freshman record for digs three times in her debut season. The team also welcomes nine newcomers and one transfer student-athlete. 

Air Force 2014 recap
The U.S. Air Force Falcons closed out 2014 with a 13-19 overall record and a 7-11 finish in the Mountain West Conference, marking the team's most conference wins as a Division I program. The Falcons racked up the most wins on their home court since 1999, going 9-8 for the third time since joining Division I in 1996. The team adds eight newcomers to the roster and welcomes back senior and lead hitter Akokwe Clement, who earned 401 kills last season, and senior defense specialist Rebecca Bates, who tallied 440 digs.

Montana 2014 recap
The Grizzlies had seen better days, who concluded last season 6-23 overall and 6-10 in the Big Sky, which led to former head coach Jerry Wagner stepping down after nine seasons. The team reached the semifinals of postseason, but fell to No. 2. North Dakota in straight sets. With a new season, however, comes a fresh slate of talent and great opportunity. Brian Doyon joined the Grizzlies in January, assuming the head coach position after six years at Utah as an assistant coach. 

Doyon's debut season is accompanied with the return of five starters from 2014, including redshirt senior Capri Richardson, who was ranked fifth in blocks for the Big Sky. The Grizzlies add three first-year student-athletes and senior transfer Hannah Sackett to the roster, who previously played at West Virginia.

Huskies' preseason honors
Junior setter Jamie Bredahl, along with sophomore outside hitter Brigitte Burcescu, earned preseason Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) honorable mentions. Bredahl earned CAA preseason honors for the second year in a row. The junior was a team leader in 2014, finishing in the top-five for digs, assists, and aces. She also had the second most kills with 219, behind fellow honorable mention member, sophomore Brigitte Burcescu, at 400. Burcescu was the first newcomer since 1997 to hit 400 or more kills in a season and also had the third most kills in the conference, deeming her the 2014 CAA Rookie of the Year.

CAA preseason poll
Northeastern was picked seventh in this year's CAA preseason poll with 21 points. The Huskies  topped Elon and William & Mary, both with 13 points, but fell behind Delaware in sixth place with 35 points. The College of Charleston was this year's top pick with four first-place votes and 55 total points. The Cougars have sat atop the preseason poll consecutively since joining the conference in 2013, the same year the Huskies fell to the Cougars in the CAA Championship game, 3-1.

Students first
The team posted the highest grade point average (GPA) across all Northeastern teams last academic year with a 3.44 GPA. The Huskies were also one of 146 Division I programs to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for attaining a GPA greater than 3.3. 

Coaches' corner
With 24 years of coaching under his belt, head coach Ken Nichols enters his 16th season with the Huskies. As the longest tenured coach of the program, Nichols has led Northeastern to 13 winning seasons and has amassed 324 wins with the red and black. 

Northeastern welcomes three new coaches aboard this year. Assistant coach Matt Soderstrom joins the Huskies after serving as the assistant director of Woodlands Wave Volleyball Club in Spring, Texas. Soderstrom enters his third season overall with Northeastern after working as a volunteer assistant coach in 2009 and 2010. Margo Savage joins the pack with more than seven years of coaching experience. Savage was previously an assistant coach for Emerson College's men's and women's teams. Finally, volunteer assistant coach Thomas Olson returns to Northeastern assuming the same role he held back in 2012 and 2013. Olson is currently the men's volleyball head coach at Lasell College.

NU kids on the block
The Huskies add three new faces to the squad, including libero Gabrielle Eyl (Boulder, Colo.), defensive specialist Sherrie Wang (Annandale, N.J.), and outside hitter Laynie Whitehead (Coralville, Iowa).