Boston College Athletics
New England Challenge Preview
September 17, 2014 | Volleyball
Chestnut Hill, Mass. -
Volleyball will battle for Beantown this weekend as they take on Northeastern and Harvard on Friday night and Sunday afternoon, respectively. These matchups are the most contended rivalries in BC volleyball history. The Eagles have taken on the Huskies 26 times and the Crimson 24 times.
The Eagles will play at Northeastern at 7:00 pm on Solomon Court in the Chabot Center and at 2:00 p.m. on the campus of Harvard University in the Malkin Athletic Center.
The series between BC and Northeastern began in 1990, with the Huskies holding a 16-10 record over the Eagles. The two teams last met on September 20, 2013 where the Eagles dropped a four set match at Northeastern's Solomon Court. Katty Workman and Courtney Castle both recorded double-doubles in the four set loss. Workman had 11 kills and a team-high 20 digs, while Castle charted 11 kills and 11 digs.
In their last meeting, Northeastern's freshman Jamie Bredahl led the match with a triple-double, recording 10 kills, 17 assists, and 11 digs along with a block assist. Other standouts for the Huskies included Kelly Bacon who posted a double-double with 13 kills and 13 digs and Hanna Gibeau who notched 10 kills. Bredahl, however, will be the only Husky player returning to the court this season, as the other two standouts graduated.
This season Northeastern sits at 5-5 through the beginning of the 2014 season, earning wins over Florida International, Rider, Fairleigh Dickinson, Fordham and Texas Christian. The Huskies won the Rose Hill Classic, hosted by Fordham on the weekend of September 6.
On Sunday, the Eagles will be back in action at the Malkin Athletic Center on the campus of Harvard University extending their total matches played to 25. The Crimson have won 16 of the 24 previous contests which began in 1990, including the last two. Last year, on September 22, 2013 the Eagles won the first set against Harvard, but then failed to convert the next three, allowing the Crimson to win the match in four sets.
Once again, Workman and Castle were key players. Workman contributed 10 kills, nine digs, and an assist while junior Courtney Castle contributed six kills and seven digs in the match. Setter Kellie Barnum dished out 37 assists in the four set loss and Madisen Lydon charted 12 digs.
The Crimson was lead by Kathleen Wallace, now a junior, who had 15 kills and just one error in the last matchup with the Eagles. Harvard's two other leading hitters from last September's match will also be on the court again. Outside hitter Grace Weghorst and middle hitter Caroline Walters both tallied 11 kills in the previous showdown.
The Eagles will fight to regain control of the series after dropping both matchups in the previous years. After the New England Challenge the Eagles will travel to Kentucky to play new ACC opponent Louisville on September 26 and then up to Pennsylvania to play Pitt on September 28. BC finally returns home after a month on the road on October 5 when they will face the Syracuse Orange at noon in Power Gym.
