DURHAM, N.H. – The Northeastern volleyball team (2-1) earned a split on the final day of the Holly Young Invitational, hosted by New Hampshire. The Huskies swept Holy Cross (0-3) in three sets before going the distance in a five-set battle with UNH (3-0), falling 3-2.

Northeastern def. Holy Cross: 25-17, 25-17, 25-22

Set One: Northeastern and Holy Cross exchanged points in the opening possession of set one. Following the sub in of Gabby Reeves that included an assist and a service ace, the Huskies took control of the set and keep their lead until the 25-17 final. Valentina Meirelles added five kills and two aces, while Reeves totaled seven assists in their set win.
Set Two: In similar fashion, the two teams put up a back-and-forth battle to start set two. Svenja Rodenbüsch played a pivotal role for NU, beginning with back-to-back aces to break the sets tie and take a 13-11 lead. Despite Holy Cross' efforts to keep a close game, Northeastern extended their advantage and closed the set off three-straight kills from Arina Sosinovica.
Set Three: The final set was kept close until the very end, seeing 12 ties throughout the match. The exchanging of points was finally broken, and the lead was kept by NU thanks to kills from Beatrice Gennari and Brynn Smith who gave the Huskies a 17-15 advantage. On the defensive, Nadia Koanui recorded a match-high seven digs in set three.
Elle Lucas and Emma Rowell both had a strong match for NU with a team-high nine kills.
Nadia Koanui tallied a match-high 14 digs.
Brynn Smith chipped in with three kills and two digs.
Gabby Reeves recorded 15 assists, four digs and two kills.
The match featured 26 ties, and 12 lead changes.

New Hampshire def. Northeastern: 11-25, 25-17, 25-19, 22-25, 10-15

Set One: The host Wildcats got off to a commanding 14-4 lead and didn't look back in the set. New Hampshire hit .500 in the set and won at 25-11. Elle Lucas and Valentina Meirelles led NU with three kills each, while Arina Sosinovica added four assists.
Set Two: Another quick start for UNH did not last long as the Huskies went on a four-point run thanks to kills from Beatrice Gennari and Emma Rowell and a UNH error to take a 7-4 lead. Despite the Wildcats tying the set at 9-9, the Huskies went on to score six-straight kills with two coming from Kaylin Daniels and kept their advantage until a 25-17 win.
Set Three: Northeastern carried their momentum into the third set, winning 25-19. In her first game of the season, Jane Nelson led the way with six kills, including the final three for NU. Sosinovica added a match-high ten assists to help the Huskies to a 2-1 lead in the match.
Set Four: St. John's continued to push the pace in set four, taking an early lead. NU managed to find their rhythm as the battled back and tied the set at 21-21 following kills from Daniels and Rowell and an ace from Sosinovica. Unfortunately, the Wildcats were able to slip away for a 25-22 win.
Set Five: After a long five-set match, New Hampshire walked away with the final win, 15-10. Northeastern, after being down five point to start, fought their way back to make it a three-point game, 10-13, in the final stretch. UNH was able to close out with a kill and ace for the win.
Emma Rowell led NU with 14 kills, followed by Jane Nelson with 12.
Arina Sosinovica dished out a match-high 36 assists, while adding five digs.
Nadia Koanui had 18 digs, a match-high, and four assists.
Northeastern led New Hampshire in kills (70), assists (67) and digs (59).

The Huskies are back in action next weekend as the travel to New York, N.Y. to compete at the Columbia Invitational. The field consists of Columbia, Fordham and New Haven. Northeastern will kick off the tournament against the Rams on Fri., Sept. 5 at 11 a.m.

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