Volleyball Concludes Season at National Tournament
Nov. 16, 2018, Sterling, Colo. - The Northeastern volleyball team ended their season after falling to Hill College in four sets. Despite not being able to advance further in the tournament, the Plainswomen were pleased to be one of the top sixteen in the nation.
Northeastern was matched up against Hill College from Texas after the Navarro Bulldogs defeated them in the opening round. The Plainswomen and Rebels were evenly matched, and the match could easily have gone in five sets. The first set started well with Northeastern jumping out to a 12-10 lead. The Plainswomen continued to have the lead at the 21-20 mark. The Rebels then strung a few points together to take the lead 23-21, forcing head coach Jess Squier to take a timeout. The Plainswomen were unable to regain some of those points back and lost 25-21.
In the second half, Northeastern put themselves in a rut early and trailed Hill 10-5. The Plainswomen's serve-receive led to passes in which Sofija Pajevic had to scramble, making her sets off point. Trying to get the team on track, Squier burned her timeouts early, which only slowed the Rebels scoring. The Plainswomen went on to lose set two 25-17.
In the third set, everything came down to this: if Northeastern lost this set, their season was over. If they won, they would push set four hoping to keep the momentum going to get the Rebels in the long run in set five. Knowing that, the Plainswomen seemed to be a different team and be more focused in on the task at hand. Northeastern took the lead 15-12 before Hill reclaimed the lead 17-16 when Squier took a timeout. The timeout allowed the Plainswomen to take their spot on top again with the 21-19 lead. Northeastern was able to rally a couple more points together and win set three 25-19.
The Plainswomen were in the same position as the last set, looking to battle to keep their season alive. Right away Northeastern was playing well and only trailed by two as the scoreboard read 12-10. A few points later, with the Plainswomen still behind 15-11, Northeastern called a timeout to get a fire building under the girls to help them mount a comeback. The fire beneath the girls brought with it some hope, as they went on a roll and tied it 24-24 when the Rebels were on match point. The Plainswomen could not capitalize on a long rally a point later and lost in set four 26-24.
The Plainswomen finished their 2018 season with a 26-7 overall record and 15-4 in conference. Additionally, Northeastern were Region IX Champions for the first time since 2002. Congratulations ladies for marking tour spot in Northeastern history.