DeKALB — Finishing the weekend sweeping the NIU Invitational, NIU women’s volleyball (5-1) rounded out the tournament Saturday with a 3-0 win over the Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Cougars (2-4).
“Just an exciting win,” said NIU women’s volleyball head coach Sondra D’Amore. “To have the lull that we did in the third and to be able to respond, we had some people step up. We pushed the group and we said we needed someone to step up. I thought they did a really good job battling for the match to get it done in three.”
The Huskies took the first point of the match, and were up 15-12 when the first timeout was taken. Back-and-forth scoring was the theme of the first set, ultimately resulting in the squads being tied at 22-22 down the stretch.
The final hit for the Huskies was a kill from senior right-side hitter Alexa Hayes, giving NIU a 25-22 win.
The second frame was also back-and-forth, similar to the first set. For every run the Huskies went on, the Cougars were able to respond promptly.
With the score locked at 25-25, two straight kills from sophomore outside hitter Ava Grevengoed put the Huskies ahead for a 27-25 set victory.
“I just think we’re being taught in practice to read the ball and see the ball,” Grevengoed said. “I think that’s exactly what I did, and the team put me in a position to be able to.”
The third set was the most contentious between the Huskies and the Cougars, ending with NIU erasing a 7-point deficit for the match win.
After being down 14-7, the Huskies went on to take their first lead at 17-16, largely in part to 4 kills from sophomore outside hitter Emma McCartney.
“She has that in her,” D’Amore said of McCartney’s performance. “I think it’s one of those moments that hopefully builds her confidence too, and knows that she can do it again. Especially on the outside, that’s a great position for her to be in. We kept her in for six rotations because we felt that momentum.”
“Going in with a baller mentality, “ McCartney said of the team’s mindset. “We had nothing to lose, down 7+ points so we just had to go and swing. And if it went down, it went down, and if it didn’t, we were just going to defend in the back row.”
The two sides continued to swap momentum, resulting in another 25-25 tie. Recording a kill for the win, junior middle blocker Autumn Flynn sealed the 27-25 set, as well as the match win for the Huskies.
Grevengoed and sophomore libero Jordyn Tynsky led the team in digs with 12 and 10, respectively. Grevegoed also tallied a game-leading 3 aces.
McCartney and Flynn each recorded 13 points for the Huskies, followed by Grevengoed with nine.
With the undefeated weekend, the Huskies have improved to 5-1 on the season, surpassing their win total from 2024.
“It feels great,” D’Amore said. “I think the program is in a place where this was needed for them to feel that they can do it and that the hard work is paying off. I think we all know we’ve got a long way to go still, and we’re never going to be satisfied, but to see the work paying off and to be 5-1 is an awesome start.”
Tynsky credited the early success to the team’s off-court connection.
“I think what’s so special about this team is that we’re all very similar in age,” Tynsky said. “We’ve got a young roster, 12 out of 16 of us are underclassmen. In some circumstances, I think that can create a lot of pressure, but ultimately, pressure makes diamonds. We all just mesh so well in our personalities. We’re hanging out with each other off the court just as much as on the court, so really creating a foundational team chemistry has been working well for us.”
UP NEXT
The Huskies will take on their final non-conference opponents at the Hampton Inn Invitational, hosted by Indiana University Indianapolis, beginning at 10 a.m. Friday in Indianapolis. NIU will play Gonzaga University and Bellarmine University on Friday, before facing Indy on Saturday.
