The volleyball team was not able to win a match in a tournament at Victor E. Court for the second consecutive week.

The Huskies (1-6) went winless in their three contests against the University of Nevada Reno Wolf Pack (20-25, 23-25, 22-25), the University of Virginia Cavaliers (18-25, 24-26, 18-25) and the Northern Kentucky University Norse (25-21, 25-23, 28-30, 21-25, 11-15) during the Holiday Day Inn Invitational.

“I still continue to believe that we can do some things and be a good team,” Head Coach Ray Gooden said. “I thought we were handling situations pretty well. It just got long, and we have got to understand how to continue to make new and fresh out of the event. We just got to a certain point where it got tougher for us.”

Friday – Nevada

NIU did not win a single set in its match against the Wolf Pack. Freshman setter Grace Balensiefer notched her second career double-double with 30 assists and 11 digs.

“I think she is doing the things we know she is capable of doing,” Gooden said regarding Balensiefer. “It is just understanding those moments where we have to direct traffic more and maybe handle the ball a little bit better. On the whole, I think she has done a real positive job so far.”

The Huskies opened the match with a 5-4 advantage before Nevada rattled off five consecutive kills and a service ace to take a 10-5 lead. NIU reduced its deficit to three by scoring four of the following six points, but three successive NIU errors gave the Wolf Pack a 15-9 advantage.

The Huskies chipped away at the deficit one more time in the set by tallying eight of the subsequent 11 points and bringing Nevada’s lead down to 18-17. However, the Wolf Pack did not relinquish their lead and responded with a 5-0 run to win the first set 25-20.

NIU took an early 11-8 lead in the second set. Nevada used a 3-0 run to tie the set 11-11, and the two teams exchanged points to tie the set again 16-16. The Huskies stayed neck-and-neck with the Wolf Pack and did not allow their deficit to grow by more than two, but ultimately fell to Nevada in the 25-23 after a sophomore outside hitter Jori Radtke error and a Wolf Pack kill.

Both teams went on runs early in the third set before exchanging points and settling into an 11-11 tie. Nevada went on a 4-0 run to give itself a 15-11 advantage. NIU retaliated by notching seven of the following 10 points and tying the set 18-18.

The Wolf Pack used a 5-1 run to go up 23-19. The Huskies made one final comeback attempt by rattling off three consecutive points, bringing their deficit down to one. However, it was to no avail as Nevada scored the final two points of the set, winning 25-22 and swept NIU in its first match of the weekend.

“Credit to Nevada,” Gooden said. “They made some plays toward the end that were really positive for their team. We were right there in the sets, especially in the second and third. Nevada just made some tough plays that we’re trying to make. Hopefully we can understand that now and get better later.”

Saturday afternoon – Virginia

The Huskies had a lackadaisical start to their first Saturday match against Virginia. They were forced to take an early timeout after tallying five early errors falling behind 8-1 in the first set. NIU bounced back by going on a 5-0 run and scoring nine of the ensuing 13 points to reduce its deficit to 12-10.

The Cavaliers scored six of the next eight points to increase their lead to six and their lead grew to as much as eight. The Huskies were not able to reduce their deficit to less than five and lost the opening set of the match 25-18.

Junior setter Amanda Krahl played for the first time since the Huskies Aug. 25 match vs. the Oklahoma Sooners after a concussion kept her out of action.

“I am glad I can be back with my team,” Krahl said. “I am going to work wherever they put me to help my team.”

Virginia jumped out to an early 8-3 lead in the second set before NIU scored nine of the next 11 points to take 12-10 advantage for its first lead of the match. The Huskies maintained their lead for most of the set and had a 23-21 advantage before a Cavalier kill and senior outside hitter Autumn Martin attack error tied the set 23-23.

The Huskies led 24-23 before a substitution error which resulted in NIU having five players on the court gave the Cavaliers an opening to tie the set 24-24. Virginia scored the final two points of the set, winning 26-24 to go up 2-0 in the match.

Senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz only played one sequence during the second set and did not play in the third set. It marked the first time the 2017 First Team All-Mid-American Conference honoree did not play in a set since the Huskies Oct. 15, 2016 match against the Akron University Zips, ending her streak of 175 consecutive sets played.

“Just trying to give her some rest,” Gooden said regarding sitting Wolowicz. “She has been grinding the entire time. It gave other people some opportunities to do some other things and hopefully that helps Meg become fresh for tonight’s match.”

NIU faced another early deficit to start the third set, falling behind 12-7, before scoring five consecutive points to tie the set 12-12. Virginia responded by going on a 7-2 run of its own to take a 19-14 lead. The Huskies did not bring their deficit to less than four for the remainder of the match, lost the set 25-18 and were swept off their home floor for the second consecutive match.

NIU recorded a .155 hitting percentage for the match in comparison to Virginia’s .321 hitting percentage. Radtke led the team in kills with 13 while sophomore libero Miranda Karlen tallied a game-high eight digs.

“We just did not have the energy we needed to today,” Gooden said. “I thought that Virginia did a good job of winning the points they needed to at the right time. It was just flat. We played that match last night and had good intensity and just came up a little short. We are still trying to figure things out about us. I do not think we were all put together there against a team that was hungry to get a win.”

Saturday evening – Northern Kentucky

Karlen notched two career-highs by recording 31 digs and eight assists in NIU’s match vs. the Norse. Four Huskies had double-doubles in their match against Northern Kentucky as Radtke tallied a career-high 17 kills to go along with 13 digs and Wolowicz notched 20 digs for the first time in her career in addition to 16 kills. The Huskies two setters both recorded assist-dig double-doubles with Balensiefer registering 24 assists and 21 digs and Krahl contributing 14 assists and 11 digs.

The Huskies jumped out to a 6-1 lead behind two Wolowicz kills, a Radtke kill and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Wallace in their final match of the weekend against Northern Kentucky.

The two teams exchanged points until a Norse 5-2 run brought NIU’s lead down to 13-11. The Huskies lead ballooned up to seven after they scored seven of the following nine points. Northern Kentucky went on a 7-2 run of its run to bring NIU’s advantage down to 22-20 before the Huskies scored three of the final four points of the set to win the opening round 25-21.

NIU got off to a rocky start in the second set, falling behind 9-5 before scoring three consecutive points to bring its deficit down to 9-8. The Norse scored three of the four ensuing points but the Huskies responded with a 4-0 run to take a 13-12 lead. The two teams traded off points, which led to Northern Kentucky taking a 20-19 advantage, until NIU tallied four straight points to regain its lead at 23-20.

The Norse scored three of the next four points, but a Wolowicz kill gave NIU the 25-23 set victory and put the team up 2-0 for the match.

The Huskies dominated the early parts of the third set by jumping out to a 16-8 lead following three successive Radtke, Wolowicz and redshirt senior middle blocker Chrystal McAlpin kills. The match began to shift in the Northern Kentucky’s favor as it outscored NIU 13-5 in the middle section of the set, which included an 8-1 run, to tie the Huskies 21-21.

NIU was one point away from winning the third set and the match twice, but they did not seal the deal. The Norse scored six of the last nine points of the set, including the final three, to take a 30-28 set victory and keep the match alive.

Northern Kentucky carried the momentum from the third set into the fourth by taking commanding 15-7 lead. The Norse’s advantage grew to as much as 10 when they led a 19-9. The NIU’s offense sputtered as they recorded a .068 hitting percentage in the fourth set.

“We did not really buckle down and be as focused in the fourth set as we were in the first two sets,” Martin said. “That showed with our energy and mindset. We were score watching and a lot went wrong.”

The Huskies battled back by outscoring Northern Kentucky 10-3 and bringing their deficit down to three. The Norse did not relinquish their lead, battled NIU point-for-point for the remainder of the set and forced a fifth set with 25-21 set win.

The fifth set was tied 7-7 after the Huskies and Norse exchanged points. Northern Kentucky gained a three point advantage after a 3-0 run, but NIU reduced its deficit down to 10-9 following successive Norse attack errors.

Northern Kentucky went on its second 3-0 run of the set to give itself a 13-9 lead. The Huskies fought back and scored the next two points to bring the deficit down to 13-11. The Norse scored the final two points of the set to win 15-11 and complete its 3-2 comeback match victory.

“I think as the weekend went on we progressed and got better,” Balensiefer said. “I think the energy was about the same about we just dropped in the last couple sets of that game, but I thought we did well over the weekend.”

The Huskies will be on the road for the first time in the 2018 season when they play in the Hampton Inn Bama Bash Friday and Saturday. They will face the Georgia Tech University Yellow Jackets 12 p.m Friday, the Marshall University Herd 5 p.m. Friday and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide 1 p.m. Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.