Cekic and Kalorin Have Career High Performances as Volleyball Falls to Northeastern

HAMILTON, N.Y. – First-years Jaida Cekic and Audrey Kalorin made their mark this afternoon as the Dartmouth volleyball team fell to Northeastern (25-21, 25-16, 12-25, 25-15) at the Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament at Cotterell Court. Dartmouth moves to 3-2 on the season.

Cekic set career highs across the board, finishing with six kills, three service aces, three total blocks and 11.0 points. Kalorin also made her mark, tying her career-high 12 assists and three kills against the Huskies. Elle McCreery was right there with her, hitting an efficient .571 with nine kills and a team-high four total blocks for a team-best 12.5 points. Riley Imamura added seven kills to go with a team-high 10 digs, Sophia Gagnepain ran the offense with 14 assists, and Irmak Makasci chipped in six kills of her own. Sloan Balsley paced the back row with eight digs. As a team, Dartmouth out-hit Northeastern .226 to .182 and won the battle at the net, out-blocking the Huskies 8-5.

The first set was tight throughout, with the two teams tying the score nine different times. Northeastern grabbed an early 3-0 cushion behind a pair of Iris Canko service aces, but Dartmouth answered right back, tying it at four on a Raeli Smith ace and a McCreery kill. From there the set turned into a back-and-forth battle. The teams traded the lead and traded ties at five, six, eight, nine, 10, 11 and 12, with Cekic serving the Big Green in front, 13-12, on a Cekic ace during one of the stretches. Cekic added another ace and a kill on the same run to push Dartmouth out to a 17-12 edge, its largest of the set. Northeastern clawed all the way back, tying it a ninth time at 18 and again at 19, before pulling ahead for good down the stretch. Dartmouth got within three in the closing points, but the Huskies closed out the set, 25-21.

Dartmouth stayed step for step with Northeastern early in the second, tying it at two on a Smith kill, before a stretch of Northeastern aces opened some daylight. The Big Green kept coming back with McCreery scoring twice off Gagnepain sets to cut it to 4-8 and 5-9. A long Husky run of Northeastern kills pushed the margin into double digits. Dartmouth made one last push in the teens, getting back-to-back points on a Imamura kill and a Smith attack error forced by the Big Green block. Imamura added another kill from Gagnepain to make it 15-23, but Northeastern closed out the set from there, 25-16.

Dartmouth flipped the script in the third, grabbing control almost immediately. Makasci opened the set with a kill, and after Northeastern briefly tied it at 2, the Big Green took over for good. Smith drew three straight points on Northeastern attack errors, part of a run that pushed Dartmouth's lead to 7-2, and Cekic added a kill of her own from Smith during the stretch. Dartmouth never let up, closing out its most lopsided set of the day, 25-12, to force a fourth.

Northeastern jumped ahead in the fourth and Dartmouth couldn't find its footing to match the third-set surge. The Big Green got a kill from Imamura off a Kalorin assist to cut an early deficit to 4-6, and Elle McCreery came up with back-to-back kills in the teens to keep Dartmouth within striking distance at 13-19 and 14-21. But the Big Green couldn't string together enough stops, and Northeastern closed out the match, 25-15.

Cekic's career night led the way for the Big Green, as she finished with career highs across the board with six kills, three service aces, three total blocks and 11.0 points. McCreery was right there with her, turning in the team's most efficient night at the net with nine kills on .571 hitting and adding a team-high four total blocks for a team-best 12.5 points. Imamura rounded out a strong night up front with seven kills while also pacing the defense with a team-high 10 digs. Gagnepain ran the offense smoothly with 14 assists, and Makasci chipped in six kills of her own to keep the Dartmouth attack balanced. In the back row, Balsley led all players with eight digs to anchor the Big Green defense.

The Ellis Rowland Memorial Tournament continues Sunday, Sept. 13, at 1:00 p.m. when the Big Green takes on Colgate at Cotterell Court.

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