This weekend’s Huskie Invitational volleyball tournament could be renamed the Wolverine Invitational after Michigan swept its way to first-place honors.

Western Illinois finished second with its only loss coming to Michigan. NIU placed third and Miami (Ohio) rounded out the tournament in fourth position.

The all-tournament squad included Sue Orstrom and Laura Haaning from WIU; Karen Marshall of Michigan; Miami’s Karen Lepley and Renee Townley; and Cathy Holmes of NIU. Michigan’s Lisa Vahi was awarded Most Valuable Player.

The tournament as a whole “was extremely disappointing” for NIU Coach Herb Summers. On Friday, his team defeated Miami in three games 15-13, 16-14, 15-9. It proved to be the only win for the Huskies who now have a 4-4 record.

“We were fortunate to win that one,” Summers said. “I think our play was symptomatic of what was to come for the rest of the tournament.”

The Huskies beat the Redbirds in three, but all the games were close. In the first game of the match, NIU was ahead by as much as six points when it grabbed a 10-4 lead. The Huskies could not capitalize on their advantage, however, and found themselves with only a one-point lead at 14-13.

Even though the Huskies did go on to win the game, Summers said their initiative was weak. The same thing happened in the second game when NIU led the whole game until it was three points from a win. The Huskies then allowed the Redbirds to gain momentum and tie the game at 12. It became a back-and-forth match until NIU took charge.

“We would get leads, but then lose them because we could not pass,” Summers said. “Our problem is execution.

“There are good players who can carry the load, but when we get in tight situations, we have a tendency to stop playing with the aggression we need.”

In the match against Michigan, NIU lost 15-13, 15-6, 15-0. Defensively, the teams were even. NIU had a total of 43 digs compared to Michigan’s 42. Yet the Wolverines dominated on offense. Michigan accumulated 38 kills of 98 attempts for a .255 percentage. The Huskies tallied 24 kills of 109 attempts for a .037 percentage.

NIU’s Anita Kesteris led the team in kill percentage with .333. Setter Beth Glisk gathered 19 assists.

The final game of the tournament, which was between NIU and WIU, also went sour for the Huskies. Western defeated NIU in 18-16, 15-13 and 15-12.

Offense seemed to be the key again for NIU. The Huskies had 50 kills in 166 attempts, which gave a .157 percentage. The Westerwinds totaled 53 kills in 136 total attempts to give a .272 percentage.

“The last two matches were not good for ball control,” Summers said. “Not a lot of offense was produced.”

NIU’s Anne Polaski accumulated 13 kills of 26 attempts in the Western Illinois game to give her a .423 percentage. Beth Glisk led both teams with 36 assists.

“Anne and Beth both did a nice job in the last two matches,” Summers said. “But we need more than two people.”

“We have people who can take charge, but right now no one wants to commit themselves.”