W&M Falls to Northeastern, 3-1

10/26/07 11:15PM

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. - The William and Mary volleyball team fell to Northeastern, 3-1 (30-26, 30-27, 27-30, 30-23), on Friday evening in Williamsburg. W&M is now 11-12 overall and 6-4 in conference play, while the Huskies improve to 14-12 overall and 6-3 in league action.

Freshman Erin Skipper led the College with a team-high 17 kills, while sophomore Lauren Powell added 12 put-aways. Junior Kim Mount earned a double-double with a match-high 52 assists and a career-best 19 digs, while classmate Jill Nowadly finished with 29 digs.

With the scored tied at 7-7 in the initial game, the Huskies utilized a 5-1 run to take a 12-8 advantage. However, the Tribe answered with a 6-2 run and evened the count at 14-14 following a NU attack error. The score remained close and W&M trailed by just one late, 23-22, but the Huskies broke the set open with four straight points. While the Green and Gold narrowed the margin to two, 28-26, after a kill by sophomore Lindsey Pflugner, Northeastern tallied the final pair of points to claim the game. Powell led the Tribe in the first frame with five kills on .364 hitting (5-1-11), while junior Jo Sotto provided eight digs.

Although the score was close early in the second game, the Huskies gradually began to pull away midway through the set. NU held a 13-11 lead but scored seven of the next 10 points to build a 20-14 cushion. The Huskies pushed the lead to as many as eight, but W&M continued to battle and narrowed the lead to 28-25 following a kill by Skipper. However, the Huskies held on and earned the three-point win. Skipper played well in the frame, totaling seven kills on a .375 attack percentage (7-1-16).

The Tribe got off to a good start in the third game and quickly built a 9-6 lead after a put-away by junior Abbi Owens. While the College extended the margin to four, 23-19, following a kill by sophomore Bryana Carey, NU countered with a 5-1 spurt to even the count. Although the score was still tied at 27-27, W&M rattled off the final three points to win the frame. Nowadly and Mount played well defensively for the Tribe in the set, totaling nine and eight digs, respectively.

Northeastern utilized a 7-1 run midway through the fourth game to take a 16-9 lead. The Huskies extended its advantage to as many as nine, 22-13, before the Tribe charged back with a 6-1 run. However, NU responded by scoring five of the next six points en route to winning the game and the match.

The Tribe will be in action again when it hosts Hofstra on Saturday at 7 p.m.