Pospisil kept the Crimson in the game with two critical kills, but Long Island was not going to be denied.
After taking the lead, the Blackbirds never looked back, leaving a stunned Harvard behind, 27-30.
“We were all disappointed with that match,” Bendush said. “That’s one that we could have had control over, and we let slip away.”
Northeastern 3, Harvard 2
Down two games to none and facing a Northeastern crowd that had seized the MAC in a hostile takeover, the Crimson stood undaunted.
“The crowd definitely added to the game,” Schweitzer said. “Loud fans, even if they’re for the other team, are great for the game.”
Harvard fought back and pushed the match to five games before falling 3-2 (25-30, 27-30, 30-24, 30-28, 12-15).
“We played the way we’ve been wanting to all season against Northeastern,” Bendush said, “So hopefully that will carry over the rest of the season.”
The Crimson and Huskies went back-and-forth in the fifth game until a crucial block by Northeastern outside hitters Rebecca Holland and Shannon Brooker gave the Huskies a comfortable 14-11 advantage.
“To come out here and play with them like we did was a completely different story than in previous years,” said Schweitzer.
Schweitzer came alive in the fourth game, pushing the team along during two separate sequences. Schweitzer contributed two kills, freshman outside hitter Katie Turley-Molony had two and the duo blocked three Northeastern kill attempts to record seven points in an eight-point span, giving the Crimson a 17-14 lead. After the Huskies stormed back to take a 25-23 lead, Schweitzer registered three straight kills, swinging the momentum back to Harvard and helping it take the game.
Personal bests fell in bunches for Harvard on Saturday night. Schweitzer, Pospisil and Turley-Molony all set career-highs in kills with 23, 18 and 15, respectively. Junior setter Kim Gould established a new individual mark with 69 assists. Bendush followed suit with 28 digs.
“We have some really athletic girls and when we play together, it’s hard to stop us,” Schweitzer said.
The Crimson pulled away down the stretch in game three, breaking open a 25-23 contest and coasting to a 30-24 victory.
It was a strong response to a second game that Harvard let slip through its fingers. Leading 17-10, the Crimson committed a series of miscues that allowed Northeastern to close the gap to two at 21-19. The Huskies weren’t done, taking advantage of two errant Harvard kills and a carrying violation to forge a 25-23 lead. The Crimson fought back to tie the game at 27, but Northeastern got a big block and a kill to steal the game.
—Staff writer Michael R. James can be reached at mrjames@fas.harvard.edu.