The volleyball team secured its first victory of the 2018 season by sweeping the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Panthers (25-15, 25-16, 28-26) Tuesday at Victor E. Court.

The Huskies’ (1-3) victory marked their second consecutive win via sweep dating back to their 2017 regular season finale against the University of Toledo Rockets Nov. 11.

Senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz notched her second career double-double with a match-high 12 kills and career-high 11 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Jori Radtke recorded 12 kills in addition to nine digs and a career-high four service aces.

Freshman middle blocker Jasmine Kemp tallied a season-high seven blocks as NIU held the Panthers to a .057 hitting mark for the match.

“I think we are all pretty much riding a high right now,” Wolowicz said. “I think we felt it coming, but we played consistent with high energy the whole time. The crowd was insane, and everyone coming together was a really good feeling tonight.”

The Huskies took a commanding 6-0 lead to start the match after two Wolowicz kills. Milwaukee reduced its deficit to three, but a 5-0 NIU run gave the Huskies a comfortable 18-10 advantage. The two teams traded points until a Radtke service ace and freshman middle blocker Angie Gromos and sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Wallace block gave NIU a 25-15 set victory.

NIU dominated the early parts of the second set. Radtke recorded three service aces and back-to-back kills by Kemp, and freshman setter Grace Balensiefer gave the Huskies a 9-2 lead, forcing the Panthers into an early timeout.

“It was good for our group to be able to establish themselves early and win the tough points late,” Head Coach Ray Gooden said. “I thought we did some positive things again tonight. I thought the blocking was really good. I thought we did a good job picking up some defensive plays and scoring points big in transition helped us out a lot.”

Milwaukee reduced its deficit to four, but stumbled into three consecutive errors to give NIU a 16-9 lead. The Huskies took their largest lead of the set when they went up 21-11 after a 4-0 run that included a Kemp kill sandwiched by two Wolowicz kills. NIU kept the Panthers at bay for the remainder of the set, winning 25-16 to go up 2-0 for the match.

The Panthers took their first lead of the match when they went on a 6-2 run to open the third set. The Huskies scored eight of the following 11 points to take a 10-9 advantage. There were 17 ties/lead changes throughout the remainder of the set. NIU came out after a Wolowicz and Kemp block and Wolowicz kill to win the set 28-26 and sweep the Panthers in the match.

“The third set showed we can finish,” Wolowicz said. “You looked at us last weekend, and you saw we were good in bits and pieces. Tonight, we put it all together and that is what we needed heading into the weekend.”

The Huskies will return to action vs. the University of Nevada Reno Wolf Pack in the Holiday Inn Express Invitational 7 p.m. Friday at Victor E. Court. They’ll conclude their seven-game homestead against the University of Virginia Cavaliers 1 p.m. Saturday and the Northern Kentucky University Norse 7 p.m. Saturday.

“I think if we could repeat the same energy and make sure that we are focusing on our side, we are going to be just fine this weekend,” Wolowicz said. “It is going to be the little things, it is going to be us having a lot of focus. I think if we can focus and really bring that in, we’re going to be alright.”