College of Charleston
Northeastern
Volleyball Comes Back to Down Northeastern in Four Sets
10/12/2014 1:38:00 AM | Volleyball
CHARLESTON, S.C. – College of Charleston volleyball battled back from a set down on Saturday night at TD Arena to claim a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-21, 26-24) win over the Huskies of Northeastern University in a rematch of the 2013 Colonial Athletic Association tournament final.
In a defensive battle in which neither team hit over .150, CofC (13-8, 5-1 CAA) and Northeastern (8-11, 1-5 CAA) combined for almost 150 digs and 15 blocks in just four sets of action. For The College, it was Sloane White who stood out offensively, raking in 13 kills and hitting .250 on the night. Senior captain Cara Howley added 12 kills while junior Grace Rebarchak put in her best display of the season, hitting .308 and notching a career-high 11 put-aways. Per usual, senior setter Kallie McKown was at her consistent best, dishing out 22 assists and digging up 10 balls to claim her 15th double-double of the season – tops in the CAA.
Less than 24 hours removed from a grueling five setter with Hofstra on Saturday night, the Cougars came out hot against the Huskies, riding seven Northeastern errors and kills from Howley and Rebarchak to take a 12-5 lead early in game one. The lead wouldn't last for long though as the Huskies tied the match at 18-18 and again at 20-20, before rattling off five of the final seven points – capped by an Alexa Armstrong kill to claim the opening set, 25-22.
After going up by as many as 10 in the second set, the Cougars quickly restored the parity with a 25-17 game two victory. In the third stanza, Northeastern looked briefly like they may run away with it, jumping out to a 6-1 lead courtesy of four Cougar attack errors, but CofC proved resilient, fighting their way back in to the game and eventually tying the set at 15 apiece on one of Melissa Morello's six kills on the night. The Cougars then won six of the next seven points to take a 21-16 lead that they would not relinquish, eventually claiming a 25-21 game three victory.
With the Cougars looking to close out the match and the Huskies desperate to force a fifth frame, the fourth set was tight early as another kill from Rebarchak tied the match at six. The Cougars then went on a run, taking advantage of the defensive prowess of sophomore middle Maddie Hills – who tied a career-high with five blocks – and the arms of White, Howley and Rebarchak to take what appeared to be a commanding 20-13 lead late in the fourth. Against the odds, the Huskies clawed their way back in to the game and even managed to level things up at 24-24 after a Cougar ball handling error. With their backs to wall it was White, however, who would answer the call for the Cougars, reeling off back-to-back kills to earn the CofC the game and the match, 26-24.
The College is back in action on Wednesday, Oct. 15 against UNC Wilmington, in Wilmington, where first serve is set for 7:00 p.m.
