A bumpy start and a season-worst hitting performance plagued NIU volleyball Wednesday night as the Huskies suffered their first sweep of 2024, falling to once-winless Northwestern University (1-6) at Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
The Huskies (2-7) posted their lowest hitting efficiency of the season of .113 in a 25-16, 25-18, 25-18 loss at Northwestern – NIU’s ninth-consecutive loss to a Big Ten Conference foe. NIU finished with 33 kills and 22 errors on 97 attempts.
“Northwestern is a very different team than we have seen all year, so I’m not entirely surprised with that stat line,” said NIU head volleyball coach Sondra D’Amore. “We figured out how to use their block more toward the end, which was a focus for us, and we need to start with that on Friday.”
Freshman outside hitter Ava Grevengoed spearheaded NIU’s offensive efforts with a team-best 10 kills on .292 hitting. Senior outside hitter Nikolette Nedic shadowed Grevengoed with 8 kills.
STATISTICALLY DOMINATED
On the opposing side of the net, Northwestern dominated in nearly every statistical category. The Wildcats finished with 40 kills and a .310 hitting percentage – their highest efficiency mark all season.
Five Wildcats finished with .300 hitting or better, led by junior outside hitter Buse Hazan and junior middle blocker Kennedy Hill. Hazan peppered the Huskies with 12 kills on .529 hitting. Hill added 9 kills while recording a solo block and 7 block assists.
NIU fell into a hole early as Northwestern opened the match with a 7-0 run. Grevengoed severed the streak with the Huskies’ first kill of the night, but the Wildcats would build multiple double-digit leads to take the opening set 25-16.
In the first frame alone, the Huskies surrendered 20 kills on .500 hitting by the Wildcats.
“They pushed us with their serve all night, but especially early in those first 10 points,” D’Amore said. “In return, we struggled to get them out of that system with our serve, and it caused a lot of early momentum (for Northwestern).”
The Huskies got more competitive in the second set, which saw both teams regress in hitting performance. Northwestern dropped to .192 hitting, while NIU plummeted to -.061 hitting. The latter racked up 9 kills and 11 errors on 33 swings in the frame. Seven of those 11 errors were forced by Northwestern, which ended the match with 12 team blocks.
NIU took its largest lead of the game early in the third set, pacing Northwestern 5-3. The Wildcats responded with an 8-0 run to reclaim frontrunner status and later strung together three consecutive service aces to lead 21-11. Graduate student setter Alexa Rousseau’s kill on match point – her seventh of the night – served as the finishing blow for NIU. Northwestern took the third set 25-18 to secure its first victory of the season.
With the defeat, the Huskies stay at 11th in the Mid-American Conference standings, only ahead of 1-6 Kent State University.
LOOMING REMATCH IN DeKALB
NIU and Northwestern will meet once more at 6 p.m. Friday in the Convocation Center to close out the home-and-home series between the in-state foes.
“Now that we get another chance to play them – we’ve seen what they’ve given us – we’re going to take the good stuff and run with it,” Grevengoed said.
The match will be streamed on ESPN+. Live statistics can be accessed on SIDEARM Sports.
