DeKALB – NIU volleyball (2-8) fell to the Northwestern University Wildcats (2-6) in three sets on Friday. It’s NIU’s second sweep in a row against the Wildcats.
OFFENSIVE STRUGGLES
The Huskies once again struggled with their offensive efficiency.
The Huskies hit at a rate of .119, the second lowest percentage of the season, only coming in above Wednesday’s game against Northwestern where the team posted a rate of .113.
Northwestern was the opposite, scoring 10 more kills (45-35) than the Huskies on a hit rate of .291.
NIU also posted 21 errors, eight more than Northwestern’s total of 13.
SLIGHT IMPROVEMENT
Despite the loss, the Huskies managed to make some improvements in their second game against Northwestern.
The Huskies’ hit rate was improved and the team also posted two more kills and one less error in this outing.
NIU volleyball head coach Sondra D’Amore said she felt her team was cleaner overall in game two.
“I think honestly all aspects of our game were a lot cleaner,” D’Amore said. “I thought we passed a lot better. We made a lot smarter decisions offensively. We started using the block early. From Wednesday to Friday was a huge jump from our side of the net.”
The second set was the closest of either game as it went to a deuce, but NIU fell short, dropping the frame 26-24. D’Amore emphasized closing as an area for improvement looking towards matchups inside the MAC.
“Closing is still a focus,” D’Amore said. “Got an opportunity to close a match. Got to find a way to do it. That’s something we need to take into the conference.”
STANDOUT PERFORMERS
Senior outside hitter Nikolette Nedic was a standout in Friday’s game. She was second on the team in kills and attacks posting 9 kills on 24 attacks. She also posted a season low in errors posting 3.
When asked about her aggression on the attack in this game, Nedic said it was part of her gameplan and something the team worked on in practice as they prepared to go against a larger opponent in Northwestern.
“We kind of worked hitting against high hands because we don’t really see people as big as Northwestern,” Nedic said. “I feel like in this last practice we had yesterday, we’ve been implementing that, and we just executed better with that today and I think it helped me a lot.”
Senior middle blocker Charli Atiemo was also impactful. She shined defensively, leading the team in blocks with 4 block assists and 1 solo block. She also contributed 5 kills and 1 ace.
Atiemo credited the work in practice as well as the team’s effort and execution for her strong defensive performance.
“As a collective in the gym we were trying to work on reading more and picking up on setter’s tendencies,” Atiemo said. “I think across the board our frontline of defense really executed that well tonight. Even if it didn’t result in a straight stuff down block, it was a great touch for our defense to pick up for.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies continue their season at 5 p.m on Friday against The University of Toledo in Toledo, Ohio. Live stats will be available through SIDEARM Sports.
The match against Toledo is the beginning of MAC play for NIU. The Huskies currently sit at 11th place in the conference.
“One huge thing in our gym has been we over me,” Nedic said. “In this last game of preseason, even though we didn’t win, we moved forward together as a team and took a big step. So I feel like just using the we over me and bringing that into conference play is an emphasis.”
