The volleyball team failed to win a match as they played three games in the Iowa Invitational Friday and Saturday.

The Huskies (0-11, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) faced the University of Iowa Hawkeyes, the Iowa State University Cyclones and concluded the tournament by playing the Hawkeyes again. The Huskies were unable to claim their first victory of the season in the tournament.

Head Coach Ray Gooden said constant improvement and consistency are aspects of the game the team needs to continue to work on.

“We went into it knowing we were going to play two tough teams, and it’s our goal to improve from [our most recent] performance,” Gooden said. “Again, we had moments where we were positive, but [we] also need to continue to work on being consistent.”

 

Friday – Iowa

The Huskies began the tournament by facing the Iowa Hawkeyes and were defeated in three sets (25-15, 25-15, 25-11). Freshman outside hitter Jori Radtke and senior outside hitter Taylor Krage led the Huskies and recorded seven kills for the match.

For the most part, the first set was a stalemate as the Huskies and Hawkeyes found themselves tied up at 14-14. However, the Hawkeyes closed the game out on a 11-1 run to win the opening set 25-15. Freshmen outside hitters Kaylee Martin and Radtke each recorded three kills for the Huskies in the opening set.

The second set featured another close game in the beginning. At one point, the Huskies were down 12-9 but the Hawkeyes used a 6-0 run to give them the separation they needed. The Hawkeyes claimed another 25-15 victory in the second set.

The Huskies started slow in the third set, allowing a 13-1 run to eventually fall behind 17-5. The Hawkeyes eventually closed out the set with a 25-11 victory to sweep the Huskies in the match.

Senior middle blocker Kelsey O’Neill and freshman outside hitter Claire Sheehan each recorded seven kills in the match for the Hawkeyes.

The Huskies recorded 22 attack errors in the match, while the Hawkeyes only recorded nine.

“We just needed to take care of our side of the ball a lot more,” Gooden said. “We didn’t understand how important it was for us to be up or [to] be focused all the time.”

 

Saturday – Iowa State

The Huskies faced the No. 22 ranked Iowa State Cyclones in their second match of the tournament. They were unable to win a set against the Cyclones, dropping the game in three sets (25-15, 25-15, 25-21).

Martin had a team-high 10 kills for the match and senior setter Chandler Kinley recorded a double-double with 17 assists and 14 digs.

Gooden said the team is continuing to focus on getting off to better starts in sets.

“I think it’s been more of a focus,” Gooden said. “We tried to do a better job of not trying to chase from the get-go and trying to have better starts. We were improving in that area for sure.”

The Cyclones used a 9-3 run to close out the set 25-15. Redshirt senior middle blocker Samara West led the Cyclones with seven kills in the opening set.

The Huskies jumped out to an early 3-2 lead in the second set, but Iowa State managed to carry the momentum from the previous set and regained control of the game. After leading 15-11, the Cyclones went on a 7-2 run and finished the set with a score of 25-15 after a service error by the Huskies’ junior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz.

In the third set, the Huskies and Cyclones were tied 12-12 before Iowa State went on a 7-2 run to put them up 19-14. The Huskies went on their own 4-1 run later in the set but ended up losing 25-21.

 

Saturday – Iowa

For their third and final match of the tournament, the Huskies suffered another sweep by the Hawkeyes (25-19, 25-15, 25-17). Martin led the Huskies with 11 kills and 11 digs, the first double-double of her collegiate career.

NIU started the first set with their biggest lead of the match at 6-3 before Iowa went on a 7-2 run to lead 10-8. The Huskies fell victim to another 5-1 run by the Hawkeyes that gave them the separation they needed to finish the set 25-19.

The Hawkeyes jumped out to a 15-6 lead in the second set. While the Huskies went on a 5-0 run at one point to bring it within six, Iowa finished strong with a 6-2 run and won the set 25-15. The Huskies hit slightly below 31 percent in the second match, and Martin led them with six kills.

In the last set of the match, Iowa managed to control the game and got out to a 17-11 lead. The Huskies rallied, going on a 4-1 run, but it wasn’t enough as the Hawkeyes closed the game and won the set 25-17.

The Huskies will return home and face the Illinois State University Redbirds 7 p.m. Tuesday at Victor E. Court.