QUEENS, N.Y. – The Northeastern volleyball team (0-2) dropped a pair of matches on day one of the St. John's Invitational on Friday. The Huskies fell to Coppin State in three sets, and then St. John's in four sets.

Coppin State def. Northeastern: 19-25, 24-26, 23-25

Set One: The Huskies got off to an early 3-2 lead after a kill by Millie Loehr, but Coppin State responded back with a 3-0 run to pull ahead at 5-3. Both teams traded points for the majority of the set, with neither leading by more than two. Jane Nelson's third kill of the set gave NU the advantage back at 11-10, but the Eagles responded right back. A kill by Kinley Gomez made it 15-15, but Coppin State tallied four of the next five points to pull ahead at 19-16 to force a Northeastern timeout. The Eagles hit .282 in the frame and took the set at 25-19.
Set Two: Coppin State got off to an early 5-1 advantage and continued to push the pace. The Eagles extended the lead to 11-6, but the Huskies fought back to trim the deficit. Down the stretch, Gomez was strong for NU, tallying four kills in the frame to knot the score up at 20. NU led 24-23 after an error, but Coppin State notched the next three points to win the set at 26-24.
Set Three: NU got off to a quick 5-2 lead, but the Eagles fought back. The two teams battled in the frame, with neither leading by more than two. Back-to-back kills by Gomez propelled NU to a 17-15 advantage, but Coppin State responded right back to knot the frame up. Two straight kills by Nelson gave Northeastern the lead back at 21-19, but the Eagles won six of the next eight points to take the set at 25-23.
Gomez had a strong match for NU with a team and career-high 11 kills.
Nelson chipped in with seven kills and six digs.
Nadia Koanui tallied a match-high 20 digs.
Carly Cooper recorded a double-double with 14 assists and 10 digs.
Loehr tallied five kills and a team-high six blocks.
The match featured 27 ties, and 14 lead changes.

St. John's def. Northeastern: 25-18, 21-25, 10-25, 12-25

Set One: NU got off to a quick 5-1 lead, capped off by an ace by Nelson. St. John's though, tallied five of the next six points to knot the frame up at six. A few points later after being tied at 10, a kill by Georgia Stavrinides and a Red Storm error put the Huskies up 12-10. Northeastern continued to roll, extending the advantage to 14-11, leading to a St. John's timeout. Gomez continued her torrid play, putting an exclamation point on the set with a kill and back-to-back aces to extend the lead to 25-15. The Huskies outhit St. John's .250 to .056 in the frame and won the set 25-18.
Set Two: The Huskies led 5-1, but St. John's quickly responded back to knot the frame up at six. A few points later, an attack error and kill by Nelson gave NU a 12-10 advantage, but the hosts tied the score back up again. The Huskies battled, keeping the set close down the stretch, but St. John's tallied the final three points to take the frame at 25-21.
Set Three: The hosts got off to a commanding 15-7 lead, and didn't look back in the frame. St. John's hit .417 in the set and won at 25-10.
Set Four: St. John's continued to push the pace, leading the frame at 10-3 after three straight kills. Down the stretch, Gomez tallied her ninth kill of the match to make it 20-10, but the hosts put the match out of reach for good to ultimately take the set at 25-12.
Nelson led the Huskies with 10 kills and seven digs.
Gomez finished a strong day with nine kills, two assists, two aces, and three blocks.
Arina Sosinovica dished out a team-high 16 assists.
Stavrinides had eight kills on .333 hitting with nine blocks.