CUMBERLAND — Northern blitzed Allegany early at the service line, and the Huskies scarcely let up.
Marisa Perez, Demi Ross, Allahna Lacy and Josie Wampler all had aces during a 15-3 start to the first game, at which point Allegany had yet to win a service point.
Fifth-ranked Allegany played better as the match progressed, but top-ranked Northern had too much firepower, sweeping 25-9, 25-14, 25-12 on Wednesday — its sixth consecutive straight-sets win.
“Tonight they didn’t give any away,” Northern head coach Jamie Bailey said of the Huskies’ serving. “We missed a few serves, but not like we have been all season missing serve, missing serves.
“We played better tonight than we have the last few games. They didn’t look quite as stuck. We had moments of being stuck and that miscommunication came back, but then they eased back into the flow of it again.”
Northern, the reigning area champion, upped its record to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Western Maryland Athletic Conference.
Allegany fell to 4-3 (1-3 WestMAC), with two of its losses coming to Northern.
“We have to play better,” Allegany head coach Cassie Murray said. “We can’t start out that way serving. That first game was just rough, but I give them credit. They kept playing.
“Obviously, the injury to Leilani (Morgret) right when we’re getting Julia (Imes) back is tough to swallow, but you got to roll with it. It’s part of life. Losing games is part of life.”
Ross led the way for Northern with six aces, nine kills, two assists and six digs, Perez added three aces, a kill, 17 assists and five digs, and Lacy tallied five aces, five kills, two blocks, an assist and two digs.
Allegany’s Claire Buskirk garnered eight digs, Danica Knight ended with four kills, two blocks, two aces and four digs, and Hailee Isom added seven assists and two digs.
Northern led the second game 10-9 before a Lacy kill put Perez on serve, which kickstarted a 4-0 flurry to put the Huskies in control. They maintained their advantage until Ross ended the set with a kill off a spike.
Allegany jumped out to a 7-5 lead in what proved to be the final game, but the Campers were unable to string together service points after.
A Madeline Clevenger ace gave Northern its first lead of the set at 8-7, part of a 14-4 run that gave the Huskies an insurmountable lead.
“We’ve been preaching this last couple games because Bishop Walsh went to five, and we shouldn’t have,” Murray said. “It’s like we get a great kill, and then we miss the next serve. That’s a momentum killer. You have to have momentum in those big games, and you have to get it where you can. We can control that.”
Northern won the junior varsity match 25-18, 22-25, 15-10. Mazzy Morel led the Huskies with 14 assists, one ace and one kill, and Brooklyn Baker added four aces and two kills.
Alco’s JVs were led by Lily Cross with 10 digs, an assist and three aces, Lydia Imes with eight assists, nine digs and a kill, and Addi Holliday with four kills and three blocks.
The Campers host Keyser (10-6) on Monday at 6:30 p.m.
While Northern doesn’t have a big varsity roster and has plugged new players into positions this season, its balance has been apparent.
Northern will look to keep its dominant start going against No. 4 Mountain Ridge (3-2, 1-1 WestMAC) on the road on Thursday at 7 p.m. before hosting Berlin on Monday at 7:15 p.m.
“A lot of them have learned to play multiple positions,” Bailey said. “They play club ball year round, so they might go to club ball and only do defense and it’s always important. I love having girls that can play all the way around.”