WILMINGTON, N.C. – Backed by senior libero
Clare Lund's 23-dig night on Thursday, the Northeastern women's volleyball team defended its way back from its 2-1 match deficit against UNCW, triumphing during a five-set thriller at Hanover Hall (25-14, 19-25, 17-25, 25-14, 16-14).
Lund anchored the Huskies' defensive unit, which registered a new season high with 90 team digs. After conceding 14 kills to the Seahawks during the third set, the NU back row buckled down during the fourth and fifth sets, allowing the Huskies to close the match by sporting the 30-14 advantage in kills.
Athena Ardila and
Samantha Shupe both double-doubled for Northeastern (13-12, 7-6 CAA), which reduced its magic number for clinching a 2019 CAA tournament berth to one. Ardila (22 kills, 20 digs) finished one kill off her career-high mark from her sophomore season (23) while Shupe paired her season high, 56 assists, with 12 digs and three blocks.
Natalie Shollin also extended her double-digit kills streak to four consecutive matches, firing 18 kills on top of four blocks and an ace.
Kills by Shollin and Staunton broke Northeastern's 5-5 first-set tie with the hosts, providing NU with its final lead during the opening set. The Huskies went on to yield 13 kills and hit .256 during the first set, winning 11 of the final 13 points to earn the convincing, 25-14 result.
UNCW (14-12, 4-9 CAA) utilized a six-point scoring run midway through the second set to build the 17-10 advantage, relying on five blocks to keep Northeastern at bay and ultimately level the match. The Seahawks' net success then bled into the third set as NU surrendered the 13-4 run to UNCW, putting the Huskies behind in another insurmountable, 17-10 hole.
Northeastern received three kills from Ardila during its four-point scoring streak that broke the fourth set's 10-10 tie. Limiting their mistakes at the net, the Huskies connected on 17 kills against three attack errors (hit .400), claiming 15 of the set's final 19 points to comfortably extend the match.
Tied at 5-5 during the fifth set, Northeastern's attackers played off its defense, totaling seven kills during the next 12 points to rush out to the 13-9 lead. Despite UNCW clawing back to even the final set at 14-14, the Huskies received back-to-back kills from Gonzalez and Shollin to beat the Seahawks to the finish line.
Brynn Montgomery led UNCW with 23 assists, 11 digs, six kills and two blocks while Anna Weissmann recorded 26 digs from the back row.
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