University of Delaware Athletics
Alker?s Double-Double Leads Delaware Volleyball Past Northeastern, 3-0, For First CAA Victory of Season
9/30/2011 8:04:00 PM | Volleyball
BOSTON, Mass. -- Alissa Alker had a match-high 12 kills and 16 digs as the University of Delaware volleyball team swept Northeastern, 3-0, to pick up its first Colonial Athletic Association victory of the season Friday night on Solomon Court.
As a team, Delaware (8-10, 1-1 CAA) hit .265 for the match, committing only nine total errors, while keeping Northeastern (10-4, 0-2 CAA) at bay with a .098 hitting percentage.
The win was the Blue Hens' seventh consecutive victory over Northeastern. The last Huskies win came during the 2007 season. Delaware defeated Northeastern in the CAA championship game last season.
Alker hit .355, taking 31 swings with only one error. Kim Stewart outhit her teammate, not committing an error to hit .381. She tallied eight kills on 21 swings. Stewart also added 15 digs and two service aces on the night.
Distributing the offense, Renee Tomko had 32 of the team's 33 assists. She also had an ace, a kill, and five digs.
Tied at 11-11 in the first set, the Blue Hens used a four-point run to grab control of the game. The continued the run with three of the next four points to take an 18-13 lead, causing the Huskies to call a timeout. Chelsea Lawrence ended the game with a kill at 25-21.
After giving up the first point of game two, the Blue Hens rattled off the next four points to take their first lead. Tied at 9-9, Alker gave Delaware the lead for good with a kill. Two more points gave the visitors a 12-9 lead. As Northeastern battled back into the set, Delaware scored the last five points to seize control of the match. Tomko served up an ace to make it 22-19, and Alker and Karina Evans finished it off with back-to-back kills, 25-19.
Again finding themselves in a close matchup, Delaware used a big run in the third set to take the match. Leading 18-17, Katie Hank started a seven-point run and give Tomko the ball to serve. She would not give up the serve for the rest of the set. Kills by Stewart, Hank and Alker gave the Blue Hens a 23-17 advantage before back-to-back attack errors by Northeastern gave the Blue Hens the victory.
The Hens used seven different attackers as middle hitter Lawrence and Evans combined to hit 10 kills on 25 attempts. Hank also got in the mix, finishing with nine kills and six digs for the match.
The Huskies committed 24 errors, taking 123 swings on the night. Janelle Tucker and Nichole Kurz each had 10 kills to lead the Northeastern offense. Ina Kamenova and Jillian Briner set the offense, dishing out 19 and 15 helpers, respectively. Natalie Skiba led the back row with 14 digs from the libero position while Tucker contributed 12 digs as well.
Delaware will look to make it three straight victories when the Hens head to Hofstra on Sunday for another CAA matchup. The first serve is scheduled for 1 p.m.
AGATE:
Delaware def. Northeastern, 3-0 (25-21, 25-19, 25-17)
Delaware (kills-assists-digs): Hank (9-0-6); Tomko (1-32-5); Stewart (8-0-15): Alker (12-0-16); Lawrence (7-0-1); Evans (3-0-3); Rosehill (0-1-7).
Northeastern: Briner (7-15-7); Marta (3-0-3); Bishop (3-0-1); Tucker (10-1-12); Kamenova (0-19-6); Kurz (10-0-2); Kehoe (0-0-0); Ciszek (2-0-3); Skiba (1-0-14); Hollis (0-0-4).
Total Team Blocks: Delaware 4, Northeastern 3
