Sure the NIU volleyball team has amassed an 11-3 mark to date, but as the cliche goes, “You’re only as good as your last outing,”—which wasn’t very impressive from Head coach Pete Waite’s standpoint.

The Huskies came up empty in their second try to knock off a Big Ten school last Saturday. The Michigan Wolverines handed NIU its third loss of the young season in the championship match of the University of Michigan Volleyball Classic: 5-15, 15-12, 15-12, and 15-10.

Waite wasn’t as distressed about the loss, as he was about his team’s inability to sustain intensity. NIU came out and pounded the Wolverines in game one, 15-5. The Huskies kept the momentum rolling in the second game as they took an early, commanding 6-0 advantage.

That’s where the intensity leveled off.

“Michigan was able to side out with us for six rotations,” Waite noted. “That meant six plays where we weren’t able to score and the momentum shifted to their side of the net.”

Michigan went on to record a 15-12, 15-12 and 15-10 victory—which sent the Huskies home with the red ribbon.

“We played a good game one and we even started game two well,” Waite said. “But then we stopped playing. We just stopped doing the things that succeeded previously. Some of it was passing, some of it was communication.”

Two promising notes from the tournament came in the form of freshman Shelby Snyder and junior Wendy Mason. Both players were selected to the all-tournament team.

Snyder remained quite optimistic despite the poor finish against Michigan.

“I thought we just didn’t play to the best of our abilities,” Snyder said. “Instead of us picking up our level of play, we just all let down and couldn’t get ourselves back together.

“But, I’m sure we’ll bounce right back,” Snyder continued. “I think it’s kind of good that we played a little off, because we can just get better from here.”