BOSTON — Coming off a whirlwind weekend at North Carolina A&T, leaving with both a 3-0 loss on Friday and a confidence-building 3-1 win in Saturday’s rematch, the Huskies were looking to translate their momentum back to their home court.
In a nail-biting five set finish, the Huskies pulled off a 3-2 win over William & Mary on Friday afternoon. The Huskies were led by freshman Brynn Smith, who led the way for Northeastern’s offense with a career-high 21 kills.
“I know that [my teammates] are going to do their jobs,” said Smith. “I’m going to do my job. We’re all going to come together to really get to that end goal of winning a match.”
Starting their first set off with great energy, the Huskies and Tribe went back and forth to take control of the court. Northeastern’s Kaylin Daniels and Georgia Stavrinides defended the net, setting up multiple kills for Smith and Jane Nelson.
William & Mary, coming off an exciting sweep series against Stony Brook, forced Northeastern to match their pace and be creative in their scoring.
To bring back momentum, Daniels brought force and energy to center court as she defended the net. As one of the main play makers, Daniels created space for her teammates to make multiple kills to create a small deficit between the Huskies and Tribe.
“How can I make the people’s lives behind me easier?” asked Daniels. “That’s what I always think about.” Her goal for each possession is to find ways for others to recycle points or get blocks to make the most out of each touch.
The Tribe used their possessions wisely and took the first set 27-25.
Going into the second set, the Huskies looked to bring the pressure and take back the court. Within the first three minutes, the Huskies scored 3-0 with small tips into the opponent’s territory. When Gabby Reaves and Beatrice Gennari entered the playing field, they brought a quick-fire energy to the volley, earning Northeastern four points and only allowing three points for William & Mary.
Halfway through this set, the Huskies’ elite stamina prevented the Tribe from gaining any scoring momentum, with middle blocking pair Daniels and Stavrinides serving crucial roles to both the team’s offensive and defensive success.
Although the Tribe tried to come back, the Huskies’ momentum was just too much for them to handle and Northeastern took the second set 26-25.
Though the third set started off steady for the Huskies, with Millie Loehr and Smith adding to their kill streaks, the Tribe were able to halt the Huskies’ game play and forcing them out of rhythm. With smarter and slower play style, William & Mary took a 2-1 set lead over the Huskies.
“The great thing about our team is we have so much flexibility, so we can make changes,” said Northeastern Head Coach Lenika Vazquez. “The girls are really great about when we make changes, saying ‘Okay, put me in coach!’”
Going into the fourth set, Northeastern needed to set the pace to get ahead of the Tribe. As Northeastern struggled to put points on the board, Daniels added five kills to her game total to give the Huskies a fighting chance at taking the set.
Both teams continued exchanging points as Northeastern sneaked back to take the lead. With multiple kills and blocks, the Tribe was kept at a distance until a few technical errors gave them the opportunity to catch up at a 25-24 advantage. With the help of Reaves, Gennari and Smith, the Huskies received a match point and earned the fourth set with a score of 27-25.
The Huskies and Tribe matched each other’s energy throughout the previous four sets and neither team was going down without a fight. Starting off with lots of energy in the final set, they all made sure that the ball did not touch the ground no matter what. With Daniels, Smith and Loehr’s energies right out of the gate, Northeastern forced William & Mary to work for the win.
In the end, the Huskies rallied together with 11 kills to win the final set 15-10.
With their next match with the Tribe just 24 hours later, Vasquez hoped to keep the structure of their gameplan the same, while also focusing on controlling the serve and pass game to ensure early dominance and finish in each set.
“The things we want to carry over are some intangibles, like our tenacity – how we didn’t give up, even when they controlled the tempo,” Vasquez said.