The volleyball team was unable to carry the momentum they gained from their first win Tuesday against the Illinois State University Redbirds to the Buckeye Invitational Friday and Saturday, as they lost three games in the tournament.

The Huskies (1-14, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) faced the University of Dayton Flyers, the Ohio State Buckeyes and concluded the tournament against the Western Kentucky University Hilltoppers.

Head Coach Ray Gooden believes the team needs to be more consistent if they plan on having more success throughout the rest of the season.

“I thought at times we did some really good things,” Gooden said. “I know that consistency is [the] key right now for us.”

 

Friday – Dayton

NIU started the tournament against the Dayton Flyers and were swept in three sets (25-13, 25-22, 25-13). Freshman outside hitter Kaylee Martin record a team-high 10 kills for the match, while senior setter Chandler Kinley paced the Huskies in assists with 20.

The Huskies started the first set strong by getting out to an early 6-3 lead to rattle the Flyers. However, the Huskies weren’t able to maintain the momentum they created for themselves.

After their second early substitution, Dayton dominated NIU in the middle of the set, outscoring them 17-5. The Flyers closed the game out with a 4-0 run to win the set 25-13.

NIU got out to an even better start in the second set. They jumped out to a 10-4 lead before forcing Dayton to call their first timeout of the match. The Flyers responded by going on a 8-1 run to put themselves up by one point before trsding points with the Huskies.

NIU went on a 5-0 run immediately following a substitution by Dayton, and would be up 21-16. The Huskies couldn’t finish strong and allowed the Flyers to go on a 9-1 run, and lost the set 25-22.

The Flyers leapt out to a 15-6 lead before going on a 5-0 run to put themselves up by 14 points. NIU battled back-and-forth with Dayton, but the Flyers won the set 25-13 and completed their sweep for the match.

Friday – Ohio State

NIU faced the No. 25 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in their second match on the tournament. After losing the first two sets of the match, the Huskies claimed victory in the third set but failed to capitalize off the momentum and lost the match in four sets (25-19, 25-21, 22-25, 25-18).

Martin had a team-high 12 kills in the match and Kinley had a match-high 33 assists.

NIU and Ohio State battled back-and-forth to start the first set before the Buckeyes went on a 5-0 to lead the set 14-8. The Huskies regrouped and brought the deficit down to two points. But, they were unable to take a lead and the Buckeyes won the set 25-19.

The second set featured another competitive start with the Buckeyes edging out the Huskies 11-10 following a 3-0 run by NIU directly after a timeout. Ohio State would score the next five points to put themselves up by six.

The Buckeyes didn’t allow their lead to be less than three points for the rest of the match, and won the set 25-21 after a kill by Swan.

Junior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz led the Huskies with five kills and had a hitting percentage of 62.5.

The Huskies jumped out to an early 6-2 lead in the third set to get an 18-13 lead. The Buckeyes scored three straight points and brought the Huskies lead down to a single point, but the Huskies managed to win the set 25-22.

The Buckeyes went on an 8-1 run in the fourth set to give themselves a nine-point lead. The Buckeyes ended up winning the set 25-18 and won the match in four sets.

Saturday – Western Kentucky

The Huskies finished their tournament play against the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers and suffered another sweep (25-12, 25-20, 25-18). Wolowicz recorded a team-high 10 kills for the match.

The Huskies struggled out of the gate in the beginning of the first set versus the Hilltoppers. Western Kentucky had a 15-6 lead before a 8-1 run put them up by 16 points. The Huskies didn’t have an answer for theHilltoppers and lost the set 25-12.

Gooden made changes to the starting lineup throughout the tournament.

“It was nice to see [different players] come out and produce some positive things for us,” Gooden said. “We feel like we had a lot of different lineups [to choose from].”

The Huskies jumped out to an early 5-1 lead but were unable to keep the lead and lost 25-20.

The teams were tied 16-16 at one point before the Hilltoppers went on a 9-2 run to close out the third set 25-18.

Gooden said he is looking forward to putting non-conference play behind them and beginning MAC play.

“We do all this [training] in the preseason to get ready for [conference play],” Gooden said. “Our record is what it is right now and we just have to worry about conference now. We’re going to [learn from mistakes] in a good way to get ourselves ready for the next 16 matches”

The Huskies will face the Western Michigan University Broncos 6 p.m. Thursday in Kalamazoo, Michigan.