BOSTON – Jessica Frannea tallied her 1,500
th career assist, and
Abby Reck notched a match-high 20 kills to lead the Northeastern volleyball team (4-3) to a four set victory over Northern Colorado (3-4), the back-to-back Big Sky Champions, on Thursday evening at the Cabot Center.
Two assists away from 1,500, Frannea notched the milestone in the first set, and finished the match with 34 assists. Reck was stellar, leading the Huskies on .436 hitting (20 kills on 39 attempts).
As a team, the Huskies were strong on defense and from the service line, tallying 11 blocks, 62 digs, and 10 service aces.
- Set One: Both teams traded points to start the set, with neither leading by more than two points. A kill from Defne Arliel put the Huskies up 16-14, but Northern Colorado quickly tied the score up. Northeastern went up 19-16 down the stretch after another kill by Arliel, and Reck sealed the set win (25-22) with back-to-back kills. Reck paced the Huskies in the frame with six kills on .500 hitting.
- Set Two: Northern Colorado got off to an early 9-4 advantage, but the Huskies chipped away with four straight points to tie the frame up. The Bears went back in front at 14-13 and remained ahead. Northern Colorado tallied four straight points to lead 19-14, and ultimately closed the set 25-22.
- Set Three: The Bears stormed out to a 13-5 advantage, but the Huskies fought back. Three straight aces from Pono Gacutan shifted the momentum back towards Northeastern to trim the deficit to 17-12, and down the stretch the Huskies tied the frame up at 21-21 after an ace from Frannea. Reck tied the frame up at 23-23 with a kill, and then back-to-back kills from Julianna Truscott and Zier earned the thrilling set win (26-24).
- Set Four: The Huskies got off to a 10-0 lead, capped off by kills from Marika Virthe and Reck. The Bears chipped away at the deficit, and eventually knotted the frame up at 18. The two teams went back and forth with Zier tallying a kill to go up 24-22, and then Northeastern held on to win the set 25-23.
- Zier chipped in with nine kills and three blocks.
- Gacutan tallied a match-high 24 digs and five service aces.
- The match featured 20 ties, and 11 lead changes.
The Huskies will close out the Northeastern Invitational on Saturday, facing Northwestern at 2 p.m. The match will stream on FloVolleyball.
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