NIU volleyball hit the road this weekend to open its season at the Stetson Hatters Invitational at Stetson University in DeLand, Florida. The Huskies (2-1) took on the Hatters (1-2), the Lamar University Cardinals (1-2) and the University of Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles (2-1). With dominant offensive showings and consistent defense on the floor, the Huskies are coming home with two wins to kick off the season.
“The resiliency of this team was shown in a lot of tight sets,” head volleyball coach Sondra D’Amore said via text. “Being able to close under pressure is a huge piece of our game that we’ve been focusing on. We train closing sets in our gym, and this weekend was a huge confidence builder to see we’re capable of doing it in live situations.”
A SWINGING START
The Huskies made their presence known early against the Cardinals to open the invitational, taking the first set. Lamar responded by taking the second and third, but NIU bounced back and kept finding openings to score.
The Huskies led the match in kills (63-55), digs (86-80), assists (56-53) and aces (9-7), and took the fifth set to win their first match of the weekend 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 19-25, 28-26 and 15-6).
Sophomore outside hitter Ava Grevengoed led the offensive charge, scoring over one-third of the kills (23) against the Cardinals. Grevengoed also showed out on defense after racking up 15 digs, only finishing behind sophomore libero Jordyn Tynsky (16) for the Huskies.
“My setters put me in great positions this weekend,” Grevengoed said via text. “I was able to play confident and feel confident even in hard moments because of how much support we all feed into each other. It’s a really great feeling. I couldn’t be prouder of all of our new faces who stepped up and played a huge role. Each girl plays such an important part on this team, and I can’t wait to see us grow this season.”
Junior middle blocker Autumn Flynn and sophomore outside hitter Emma McCartney each made 8 kills, and senior right side Alexa Hayes helped with 7 kills. On defense, Hayes and Flynn jumped 4 and 3 block assists, respectively.
HIT OR MISS
NIU had its second match of the day on Friday against Stetson. The Huskies and Hatters went set-for-set, besting each other back and forth. The Huskies’ fatigue started to set in, and attack errors (27) were the result. Stetson finished the fifth set errorless, leaving NIU with the 2-3 loss (24-26, 25-21, 20-25, 26-24, 9-15).
“We have to get back to work in the gym to maintain the momentum,” D’Amore said via text. “We overall had too many unforced errors. Offensive execution is going to be a main focus in training this week.”
Grevengoed led in kills for the second consecutive game, scoring 22 throughout the match. Flynn and McCartney each tacked on 12 kills, and sophomore middle blocker Rylea Alvin earned 8 kills alongside Hayes.
Sophomore setter Ella Strausberger helped keep the ball in play with 49 assists, and served up four aces. On defense, she jumped for 1 block assist. Alvin and Hayes each put up 4 block assists. Tynsky made 17 digs, Strausberger had 14 and Grevengoed finished with 12.
DIGGING DEEP
NIU rounded out the weekend with a match against Southern Mississippi. After dropping the first set to the Golden Eagles, the Huskies were all gas, no brakes.
The offense kept NIU in the game, totaling 15 more kills than the opposition (65-50). The defense shut down Southern Miss’ attack attempts with 91 digs overall and 9 total blocks. The Huskies claimed victory in four sets, taking down the Golden Eagles 3-1 (23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 25-23).
McCartney finished the match with the most kills (15), closely followed by Grevengoed (13) and Alvin (12). Alvin also brought the heat defensively, totaling 8 blocks (two solo, six assists). Tynsky led the team with 32 digs, and Strausberger led in assists with 30.
Grevengoed was named the MVP of the tournament, recording her third straight double-double in the match against Southern Mississippi. Alvin and Tynsky were also named to the all-tournament team.
“This weekend really was a glimpse into this season,” Grevengoed said. “This team has so much grit and determination, and when we turn it on, it really shows how much success we can have. Getting some wins on the board feels great, and we all cannot wait to see it happen more often.”
The Huskies return home to host the NIU Invitational during Cram the Convo Weekend. Their first game is against Merrimack College, starting at 11 a.m. on Friday at the Convocation Center. The games will be streamed on ESPN+ with live stats provided on SIDEARM Sports.
