CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston's perfect streak through the CAA came to a heartbreaking end on Senior Day as CofC fell to Northeastern 3-2 (22-25, 24-26, 25-23, 25-21, 15-8) at TD Arena.
Charleston (21-5, 11-1) won the first two sets to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the match, but Northeastern (17-9, 9-3) held on in set three and ran out in front of Charleston in sets four and five to take the win. Charleston's winning streak ended at 11 matches as the Cougars lost their first match in CAA play.
Although College of Charleston did not clinch the CAA Regular Season Championship outright, CofC did secure a potential tiebreaker with Northeastern by forcing the match to go five sets. Because of the tiebreaker, CofC will be assured the opportunity to host the CAA Volleyball Tournament on Nov. 22-24 at the North Charleston Convention Center.
Northeastern made its rally with hustling defense, finishing with 91 digs for the match, the most by any CofC opponent this year. CofC hit .203 with 73 kills and 31 errors, while Northeastern hit .261 with 63 kills.
Five different Cougars reached double digits in kills led by Darcy Dorton's 18 strikes. She compiled a double-double as she also dug up 14 balls. Melissa Morello had 17 kills and nine digs, while Sloane White finished with 12 kills and four blocks.
Cara Howley and Emily Neideffer both managed 10 kills and Kerstin Koehler had a match-high six blocks.
Northeastern's Kelly Bacon led all players with 21 kills, finishing with a .333 hitting percentage. Bacon also posted 22 digs for a double-double. Jamie Bredahl posted a triple-double, tallying 12 kills, 23 assists and 22 digs. Nichole Kurz and Ava Cramp each reached double figures with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.
The first and second sets played close as they featured a combined 24 ties and 11 lead changes. Howley helped CofC pull away with a kill and ace late in the first set and Dorton and Morello landed kills to secure the 25-22 win.
Kills from Koehler and Dorton put Charleston ahead 16-10 in the second set, but Northeastern rallied back to tie the set at 16. The teams traded points for the rest of the set until consecutive kills from Dorton forced set point at 24-23. An error tied it at 24, but Neideffer made a kill and Dorton and Koehler made a block for the 26-24 win and a comfortable 2-0 match lead.
But Northeastern rallied with its back against the wall. The Huskies opened an 18-12 lead in the third set which was followed by two massive CofC runs. Charleston pulled to within 21-18 to put pressure on the visitors' offense. Northeastern scored the next three to make set point, but the Cougars fended off five set points and made it a one-point game at 24-23, the closest Charleston would come to winning the match. Bacon put the game away with a kill on the next play for a 25-23 win.
Northeastern led 15-6 and 22-12 in the fourth set before the Cougars finally found some life. Charleston came all the way back to 24-21, a 9-2 run, but it was too little too late when Bacon ended the set with a kill yet again.
Charleston tried to recapture momentum in the fifth set, but two errors and a Northeastern block put the Cougars in the hole, 3-0. The stands began rocking after kills from Howley and Morello tied the game at 7-7. But a kill from Ava Cramp gave Northeastern the lead heading into the turn, and the Huskies never looked back, taking the final points and winning 15-8.
College of Charleston will look to win the conference outright with a win in one of next weekend's matches on the road. CofC travels to Towson on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m., followed by a Saturday match at Delaware at 7 p.m.
