DeKALB — The Volleyball team spent their weekend in the Pacific Northwest as they played three games in the Oregon Invitational Friday and Saturday and lost all three games.

The Huskies (0-7, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) faced three teams in the tournament: the Loyola Marymount University Lions, the University of Texas — Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros and the University of Oregon Ducks.

Head Coach Ray Gooden said the team allowed too many runs to the opponent during the weekend and that played a big part in going 0-3 in the tournament.

“When you play in heavyweight matches, its about being bale to sustain and being able to take advantage of opportunities,” Gooden said. “We did that in moments, just not as much as we’d like to.”

Friday — Loyola Marymount

The Huskies began their stint at the Oregon Invitational against the Loyola Marymount Lions and lost in four sets (29-27, 28-26, 25-17, 25-21).

NIU began the match by taking the first set 29-27. The Huskies got nine kills each from freshman outside hitter Jori Radtke and junior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz.

Head Coach Ray Gooden said in previous matches that it’s important for the Huskies to get off to good starts if they want to get wins.

“I thought we made some improvements in some areas from our last few matches,” Gooden said, according to an Aug. 31 Northern Star article. “We’ve been battling stronger toward the end and we need to work on [getting better] starts.”

Although the Huskies got off to a good start with winning the first set, the rest of the match did not go their way, as they lost the next three sets and lost 3-1.

In the second set, the Huskies had a 26-25 lead. A kill from Radtke evened the score at 26-26. A kill by the lions and an NIU error gave the Lions a 28-26 win in the second set. The set was tied five times.

The Huskies fell apart in the third set as the Lions jumped out to an early 11-5 lead and never looked back. The Huskies lost the set 25-17.

In the fourth set, the Huskies rebounded and got out to an early 12-5 lead. However, the Lions went on a five point run to put them within two points. The score was tied at 18-18 before the Lions went on another run, scoring six straight points to win the set 25-21.

Radtke recorded nine kills and 10 digs in the match.

Friday — Texas-Rio Grande Valley

The Huskies faced the Texas – Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros in the their second match of the tournament and got swept in three sets (25-19, 25-19, 25-18).

The Huskies were led by Radtke, who recorded 10 kills and two blocks.

In the first set, the Huskies led 10-8 before surrendering six straight points to the Vaqueros. After stopping the run, the Huskies were unable to get over the hump and lost 25-19.

The second set had a similar outcome as the teams were tied at 9-9 before the Vaqueros went on a four-point run to give them a 13-9 lead. Later in the match, the Vaqueros scored five of six points to take a 22-15 lead and won the set 25-19.

The Huskies got out to another slow start in the third set, as the Vaqueros jumped out to an early 11-5 lead. The Huskies closed the gap later in the set before the Vaqueros went on a late run and took the set 25-18.

Wolowicz tallied six kills and two blocks for the Huskies in the match.

Saturday — Oregon

The Huskies closed the tournament Saturday with a match against the No. 14 ranked Oregon Ducks and lost the match in three sets (25-12,25-15,25-15).

NIU failed to surpass 15 points in either set against the Ducks.

“We played a really good [ranked] team [Saturday] in Oregon,” Gooden said. “They were really physical and they put us under a lot of pressure. [It is important] for us to learn how to keep our composure against these types of teams. It’s a goal for us to try to play at that level and that’s what we’re trying to work our way toward.”

The ducks hit just over 42 percent in the first set and jumped out to a big lead early. The Huskies were unable to keep up with the Ducks and lost the set 25-12, even with senior outside hitter Taylor Krage recording four kills.

The Huskies had an early 6-4 lead in the second set before the Ducks tallied six straight points to give them a 10-6 lead midway through the set. The Duckskept the momentum going and won the set 25-15.

The Ducks had their way in the third set, hitting just over 43 percent. Freshman outside hitter Kaylee Martin tallied four kills in the set and Wolowicz added three kills and hit 100 percent.

For the second time this season, Wolowicz was named to the all-tournament team after recording 10 blocks and a team-high 21 kills throughout the tournament. Wolowicz was also named to the NIU Holiday Inn Express Invitational all-tournament team Aug. 26.

After winning the MAC Championship in 2016, the Huskies now have an 0-7 start to begin the season. Gooden said the biggest difference from last year is experience, as the team lost six players from last season. The Huskies are 3-21 so far in sets this season.

“We lost players that had significant moments at some point in their careers and now we’ve got, at times, four-to-five freshman on the floor,” Gooden said. “[The younger players] are learning just like the last group learned when they were young, just how to battle and go against good teams and once they get it, we’ll do good things,” Gooden said. “In the meantime, we’re going to have to grow.”

The Huskies will face the University of Northern Iowa Panthers 6 p.m. Tuesday in Cedar Falls, Iowa.