NEW YORK, N.Y. – The Northeastern volleyball team (3-2) earned a split on the first day of the Big Apple Invitational, hosted by Columbia. The Huskies fell to Fordham in four sets before going for redemption in a four-set battle with Columbia, winning 3-1.

Fordham def. Northeastern: 25-19, 26-24, 21-25, 26-24

Set One: Northeastern and Fordham exchanged points in the opening possession of set one. Following the sub in of Sofia King, a dagger of a kill down the line from Elle Lucas kept the Huskies in the fight. Impressive blocking from the Rams led to their 25-19 first set win.
Set Two: A battle of a second set opened with a pair of back-to-back kills from Kaylin Daniels and Jane Nelson for Northeastern, while halfway through, first-year Emma Rowell showed her powerful swing to push the set beyond 25. A final service ace from Fordham would push them ahead 2-0.
Set Three: The third set kicked off with a Husky run consisting of more kills from Daniels and Brynn Smith. The Fordham middles would push back, stuffing a pair of attacks, but Northeastern would hold to the 25-21 win.
Set Four: As a repeat of the second set, the two squads kept the score within one until strong swings from the Rams pushed the game open halfway. Rowell stepped up for the Huskies keeping the energy up with a pair of kills late, but a final defiant block from Fordham would seal their victory.
Elle Lucas led the attack for Northeastern with a career-high 13 kills, paced by teammate Emma Rowell who tabbed 12.
Nadia Koanui tallied a match-high 30 digs.

Northeastern def. Columbia: 25-20, 18-25, 29-27, 25-14

Set One: The host Bears secured the first point of the set and proceeded to take an early 13-7 lead. After a pair of service aces from Nadia Koanui the Huskies came alive. The blocking pair of Valentina Meirelles and Beatrice Gennari fed off of the senior's energy and pushed the game to an even 15-15. In a storybook ending the senior libero, Koanui, sealed the win with another pair of aces.
Set Two: An opening service ace from Arina Sosinovica opened the next set of action for the teams. The home team supplied a response, exploding to a 12-7 lead off of four kills. Northeastern would look to make a late push, but fell 25-18.
Set Three: The third, and most exciting set of the evening, proved to be a battle of rallies for the teams. Halfway through the set, and stuck exchanging points, two kills from Meirelles and one from Jane Nelson gave the Huskies a 16-13 advantage. Columbia dug in and pushed the set past 25. Enter Kaylin Daniels. The senior took over the latter half of the set, registering two dominant kills down the middle to secure the 29-27 win.
Set Four: Northeastern had a chip on their shoulder in the final set of the evening, taking off to an impressive 17-8 lead. Columbia would get the set back within reach, but a pair of kills from Daniels secured the victory for the Huskies.
Kaylin Daniels paced the Huskies with 12 kills, and three block assists.
Nadia Koanui tallied six service aces to fo with 12 digs.
Svenja Rodenbüsch paced the defense with 12 digs and three block assists.