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It had to end sometime.
The University of Maine volleyball team came up short on Sunday in the America East Championship match, falling to Northeastern University, 3-0, to end an improbable season.
UMaine was riding a wave of momentum into Sunday’s final, having won six consecutive matches, including an upset of top-ranked Towson University, 3-1, on Saturday.
UMaine beat Northeastern last week in its final regular season match and, to top it off, the Black Bears had newly-crowned America East Player of the Year Leah Voss on its side.
But UMaine never got things going on Sunday, and the Huskies dominated, winning 30-27, 30-18 and 30-21. Northeastern defeated the University of New Hampshire, 3-1, on Saturday to reach the conference championship. The Huskies were led by America East Setter of the Year and Championship Most Outstanding Player Kristin Ursillo, who had 31 assists and four kills. Ursillo also had a match-high 56 assists and 13 digs in the win over New Hampshire Saturday. Lindsay Wagner had 12 kills and 13 digs Sunday and Kristin Deatherage added 11 kills as Northeastern is now headed for the NCAA Championships.
Senior outside hitter Voss led the Black Bears with 13 kills and seven digs as she and fellow senior Adrienne Poplawski played in their final collegiate match. First-year right-side hitter Carmen Gabriel, who was named to the All-Rookie Team Friday, added 11 kills and a team-high 13 digs.
Voss also carried UMaine over Towson on Saturday, setting the America East Championship record with 27 kills and she also added 12 digs. The Black Bears jumped out early on the Tigers’ home court, stealing the first game, 30-23. Towson came back to take game two, 30-18.
The third game proved to be the turning point, with each team trading points until the end. Down 29-30, UMaine scored the final three points to stun the Tigers. In the fourth game, the Black Bears showed veteran poise, outhitting Towson .341 to .195, to take the game and the match from the top-ranked team.
This year was the first since 1997 that a No.1 seed did not advance to the America East Championship match.
Gabriel again came up big with 16 kills and a team-high 13 digs against Towson. Sophomore Randi Olin also reached double digits with 10 kills. Sophomore setter Cheryl Elliott, an honorable mention for All-Conference honors, had a match-high 48 assists to lead the Black Bear offense and chipped in with 10 digs.
The Tigers were led by All-Rookie Team member Sarah Miller who paced the team with 14 kills and a match-high 14 digs. Senior Melanie Madden also added 14 kills, as she and All-Conference senior setter Andrea LaBlanc (44 assists) played their final match in a Towson uniform. Junior Jordann Tomasek added 10 kills and 10 digs, and freshman All-Conference middle blocker Liz Goubeaux also had 10 kills.
Voss led the conference in digs for the second consecutive season, and finished in the top 10 in three other statistical categories on her way to winning the top conference honor. She finishes her UMaine career holding several season and match records. Gabriel joined Elliott as an honorable mention, in addition to making the All-Rookie Team. Elliott was an All-Rookie selection in 2000. Voss and Gabriel were also named to the America East All-Championship Team on Sunday.
