Within the confines of the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center in Kent, Ohio, the lyrics of Big Sean’s “Bounce Back” resonated through the visitors’ locker room after a redeeming win.
One verse best captured the essence of a weekend performance for NIU volleyball that started sour before growing sweeter.
“Last night I took an L, but tonight I bounce back.”
NIU volleyball (6-12, 4-2 MAC) completed its own bounce-back behind season-best offensive efficiency to topple the Kent State University Golden Flashes (4-14, 0-7 MAC) in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, 25-15, on Friday.
“We really wanted to focus more on our side and what we needed to do to get the win, and that was what we did,” said NIU volleyball head coach Sondra Parys. “I’m really proud of how they bounced back, and they found a way to get it done and get it done in three.”
NIU entered the match less than a day removed from a 3-1 loss at Ohio University (9-10, 4-3 MAC). The Huskies took the first set before dropping the final three to open the weekend in the loss column.
“I think after last night’s (Thursday’s) match, we were just all very hungry to reset and kind of show we belong where we belong,” said graduate student outside hitter Katie Erdmann.
WELL-OILED MACHINE
The NIU attack posted 48 kills on .439 hitting, the team’s highest combined hitting percentage in a match this season.
Erdmann led the match with 11 kills. Erdmann is now 20 kills away from reaching the 1,000 career kills plateau. Junior outside hitter Nikolette Nedic added 10 kills to give NIU two double-figure kill performances.
The Huskies flared up in the opening frame with .500 hitting. NIU had 16 kills and a lone error on 30 swings. By winning the first set 25-19, NIU had won the opening set for the second day in a row.
“I think every volleyball player in the world would agree with me when you say that if you win that first set, you feel a lot better about going through the rest of the match, that you’re going to take care of it,” Erdmann said.
From there, NIU kept itself above a .400 hitting percentage plateau and started to develop a stingy presence at the net in the second set.
“Towards the beginning, it (blocking) was a little shaky,” said sophomore middle blocker Savanah Brandt. “And towards the middle, we started getting more confident in ourselves, which helped our defense play around it. It really helped slow the game down.”
The NIU front row totalled seven blocks while the Flashes were unable to register any. Brandt finished with a season-high six block assists. Junior libero Crew Hoffmeier anchored NIU’s back row with a match-best 17 digs.
The Huskies bagged its largest win of the match in the deciding set, winning by double-digits (25-15). NIU strung together four aces after being held to none in the first two sets and logged a quartet of blocks.
NIU returns to the No. 6 spot in the MAC standings – the same spot it began the weekend in – following Ohio’s five-set loss to Western Michigan University (16-2, 6-0 MAC) on Friday. Kent State retains its spot at No. 11.
After a 1-1 split of the weekend, NIU returns home for another meeting with a squad winless in MAC play. The Huskies will host Eastern Michigan University (2-17, 0-7 MAC) at 6 p.m. Thursday and Friday at Victor E. Court. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, and live statistics will be provided by SIDEARM Sports.
