They say all good things must come to an end. The NIU volleyball team and their seven-game winning streak is no exception.

But in this case, no one ever said the Huskies would have to like it.

NIU’s demise came this weekend when they were defeated not once, but twice, in their own Huskie Invitational Tournament at Chick Evans Field House. The Huskies started tournament action on a positive note, picking up a victory against Kent State in their first tourney appearance Friday. The high flying Huskies were then brought down Saturday against conference foe University of Illinois-Chicago and a tough Southern Illinois University team that ran away with the tournament championship.

The losses were not a complete dissappointment, however, as NIU’s Kari Neison and Kori Schauer were both named to the Huskie Invitational All-Star team.

It was Neison who was unstoppable from the top of the tournament, with a team leading 24 kills and 12 digs against the Kent State Flashes. Schauer followed with 15 kills and Nikki Kosak, the tourney’s unrecognized “all-star”, had 12 digs of her own. After a slow start in the first game, NIU’s offense finally clicked behind Shauna Campbell’s 64 assists and finished off the Flames in four games,( 9-15, 15-3, 15-9, 15-7).

Freshman Amy Foulk supported the idea that the relaxed Huskie attitudes are what helps them win games.

“We always play a lot better when we just have fun.” Foulk said following the Kent State victory.

Unfortunately, that winning formula was never regained by the Huskies or head volleyball coach Pete Waite, who searched unsuccessfully for a team combination that would click in the last two matches of the tournament.

“Friday night they came out and played really well and we didn’t have to mix as much.” Waite said. “On Saturday a lot of people were a little flat, a little bit off in their game, so we tried to find people that would mix in there right and blend well.”

NIU’s trouble started at noon Saturday against a fired up UIC team who ended the Huskie winning streak in a five game battle, (11-15, 15-5, 12-15, 15-10, 9-15). It was during this match that the depth of NIU’s bench was put to the test with 14 players shifting on and off the court. Again, Neison led the kill chart with 23, while Kosak added 15 crushes and topped the defense efforts with 22 digs.

“It’s nice we have a lot of players who can come off the bench,” Waite said. “We just never really came together with enough players playing that well.”

Julie Kreiling-Zinke, one of NIU’s most valuable performers was almost unheard from in the tournament until the final game against SIU. It was then she gave her most powerful performance. Kreiling-Zinke had a team high 22 kills and 12 digs while Becky Ramsey, one of NIU’s most consistent players, followed offensively with 10 kills. It might have been just a little too late.

The Salukis came into the match undefeated in tournament play and continued their dominance by beating the Huskies in three games,(5-15,13-15,11-15). The Huskies, who were plagued with missed serves and sloppy errors could not stop the Salukis’ crushing offense or tournament MVP, Dana Olden.

“Not only were our errors a problem, but we weren’t serving very directively, which makes it easier for the other team to pass the ball.” Waite said.

NIU found out how crucial those mistakes can be as SIU went on to win the tournament then with a 3-0 record. They were followed by UIC (2-1), NIU (1-2), and KSU (0-3). The Huskies now hold onto a 8-3 overall record and look to bounce back when they travel to Bloomington Tuesday to take on the Illinois State Redbirds.