BOSTON – With freshmen outside hitters
Evelyn Gonzalez and
Erica Staunton breaking out for 20 kills apiece on Friday, the Northeastern women's volleyball team came thundering back against UNCW, turning its 2-1 deficit into a five-set victory at Cabot Center (21-25, 25-22, 20-25, 25-10, 15-7).
Gonzalez paired three service aces with her team co-high in kills, registering two blocks at the net while recording four digs. Staunton fired the team high, 46 attacks, committing three errors at a hitting efficiency of .370.
Northeastern (8-9, 2-3 CAA) combined to swing .400 during its victorious fourth and fifth sets, during which the Huskies outscored UNCW (11-7, 1-4 CAA) by the 40-17 margin. NU also enjoyed one of its best defensive matches of the 2019 season on Friday, totaling 79 digs and eight blocks.
Athena Ardila posted 14 kills, 11 digs and three blocks to earn her first double-double of the year.
Samantha Shupe tallied 48 of the Huskies' 65 assists while
Kayla Martin (15 digs) and
Liz Carroll (15) led the cast of five NU players with double-digit dig counts.
Despite Northeastern's 16-7 advantage in kills during the first set, UNCW capitalized on the Huskies' 11 attack errors, four of which took place after NU had closed within two points at 19-17. The Huskies knotted the match during the second set, overcoming 15 tied scores and five lead changes by landing 17 kills against three errors (hitting .438).
Northeastern played to 10 tied scores with the Seahawks during the third set, but was unable to keep pace late with the visitors, who broke the 17-17 tie with their 8-3 scoring run.
Ardila's kill at 7-4 during the fourth set prompted a five-point streak for the Huskies that shifted momentum back to the home side. Gonzalez served back-to-back aces during Northeastern's second of three five-point runs as the Huskies cruised to the 25-10 victory.
Northeastern's cohesion spilled over into the fifth set, where NU combined to yield 11 kills against two errors at the net (hit .409).
Friday's victory marked the Huskies' second comeback win from 2-1 down (Sept. 6 against Northern Arizona).
Brynn Montgomery led UNCW with nine kills, 28 assists, seven digs and three blocks. Brooke Hanshumaker charted seven blocks for the Seahawks while Jaime Thomas logged 12 kills and eight digs.
