The volleyball team commenced their four-game road trip when they faced the University of Toledo Rockets and the Ball State University Cardinals.

The Huskies (4-17, 3-3 Mid-American Conference) defeated the Rockets (19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17) Friday and the Cardinals (23-25, 25-20, 19-25, 25-19, 15-13) Saturday.

Head Coach Ray Gooden was encouraged with how the team played together as a group.

“This weekend is a hard one,” Gooden said. Just the Toledo, Ball State trip is a real tough trip for us. For our group to go out there and battle as a group, and have people step upwas a really positive sign for our team tonight.”

 

Friday – Toledo

Freshman outside hitter Kaylee Martin recorded her third double-double of the season with 24 kills and 10 digs. Junior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz and freshman outside hitter Jori Radtke each added a career-high 14 kills.

The Rockets led 16-15 and held a seven point lead after a 7-1 run. NIU brought the deficit down to five, but Toledo closed out the set 25-19.

NIU had a stronger start to the second set and led 13-7. The teams traded runs, but a 3-0 Rockets run tied the game at 19, but the Huskies won the set 25-22.

Martin had seven kills, while freshman defensive specialist Miranda Karlen and senior outside hitter Taylor Krage each recorded six digs for NIU.

“I thought we had a lot of really good energy, we just weren’t controlling it the way we needed to,” Gooden said. “As the match went on, we started to settle down and started making more efficient plays, and that helped our team out a lot.”

The Huskies led 22-19 and Toledo responded with a 4-0 run and gave themselves a one point lead, but NIU countered with a 3-0 run of their own and won the set 25-23.

NIU opened the fourth set with a 14-10 lead. The teams split the next 10 points before the Huskies scored the next three points to give themselves a seven point lead. The Rockets battled but a block by Wolowicz gave NIU the 25-17 win and clinched the match for the Huskies 3-1.

{{tncms-inline account=”NIUVOLLEYBALL” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The Huskies win at Toledo 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17! 24 kills from Kaylee Martin, 14 each from Jori Radtke and Meg Wolowicz.</p>— NIU Volleyball (@NIUVOLLEYBALL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIUVOLLEYBALL/status/916472743469768704?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 7, 2017</a></blockquote>” id=”916472743469768704″ type=”twitter”}}

Coach Gooden was impressed by how NIU is learning along the way.

“I think we keep learning things each time [we play],” Gooden said. “So, I think that from each event I think our response to things is a little bit better or more appropriate from the situation at hand. And from that we’re getting outcomes. If we keep doing that we’ll keep getting positive results.”

Saturday – Ball State

The Huskies resumed their road trip Saturday with a win against Ball State. Martin recorded her second double-double of the weekend with a match-high 21 kills and 14 digs.

Radtke (13), Wolowicz (12) and sophomore middle blocker Brinley Milbrath (10) each had over 10 kills for the match. Senior setter Chandler Kinley recorded her fifth straight match of over 40 assists with a match-high 51 assists.

Coach Gooden was impressed and acknowledged the well-rounded play of the Huskies.

“The cool thing right now [is] it’s not just one person [contributing],” Gooden said. “Don’t get me wrong, Kaylee Martin is doing some great things with the way she’s playing, but I think everybody has to contribute in order for our team to be successful right now.”

{{tncms-inline account=”NIUChiefofStaff” html=”<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Don’t look now, but <a href="https://twitter.com/NIUVOLLEYBALL?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NIUVOLLEYBALL</a> is starting to gel and heat up! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/swepttheweekend?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#swepttheweekend</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/roadwins?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#roadwins</a></p>— Matt Streb (@NIUChiefofStaff) <a href="https://twitter.com/NIUChiefofStaff/status/916845392238702592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 8, 2017</a></blockquote>” id=”916845392238702592″ type=”twitter”}}

The teams were tied 5-5 in the opening set. A 7-0 Cardinals run forced the Huskies to call an early timeout. NIU responded and scored seven of the next nine points, which brought the deficit down to one. NIU remained in striking distance for the rest of the match but a service ace by Cardinals senior outside hitter Brooklyn Goodsel sealed the set for Ball State, 25-23.

The Huskies got off to a fast start in the second set and led 12-5. The Cardinals came back and tied the set at 20-20. A kill by freshman middle blocker Kennedy Wallace sparked a 5-0 by NIU and they won 25-20.

Ball State started the third set with a 5-0 run and the Huskies were not able to bounce back and lost the set 25-19.

The Huskies began the fourth set with a 16-11 lead. The Cardinals managed to bring the deficit within two, but three kills from Radtke and an error from Ball State helped the Huskies win the set 25-19. .

NIU jumped out to an early 5-0 lead in the fifth set, but the Cardinals battled back and cut the deficit to four. Ball State scored six of the next nine points and cut the Huskies lead to 13-12. The Cardinals were not able to bounce back and lost the set 15-13.

Even though he’s happy with their weekend sweep, Coach Gooden doesn’t believe the team should be satisfied.

“We know that we can still get better, we’re nowhere near as good as we can be and we barely started conference [play],” Gooden said. “We’ve improved from our first match, so it’s [about] what we see in front of us. We have to rest up, enjoy tonight and get ready for two big matches on the road.”

The Huskies continue the last half of their road trip against the University at Buffalo Bulls 5 p.m. Friday in Buffalo, New York.