The volleyball team lost their fourth match in a row Monday against the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Panthers.

The Huskies (0-4, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) lost the match 3-0 for the second time in a row, dating back to their 3-0 defeat against the University of California – Polytechnic State Mustangs Saturday at Victor E. Court. The team is winless so far this season.

NIU kept it close throughout the second and third sets but were unable to get over the hump and went winless for the match (25-12,25-20,25-22).

“I think we have to understand how we approach each event, and each event can be each play, each game and each match,” said head coach Ray Gooden, according to NIU Media Services. “I think at a certain point we finally get an understanding of what we need to do so then we can go out and do it.”

The Huskies were led by freshman outside hitter Kaylee Martin, who recorded 13 points for the match, including 12 kills and six digs.

In the first set, the Huskies found themselves down big early as they had to battle back, falling 17-6 early in the set before calling a timeout.

The Panthers hit just under 39 percent and recorded 12 kills in the set and won the set 25-12.

Gooden said he thinks his team needs to get out to better starts in order to have success against tough teams.

“I thought we made some improvements in some areas from our last few matches,” Gooden said. “We’ve been battling stronger toward the end and we need to work on [those] starts.”

The Huskies had a similar start in the second set, as the Panthers jumped out to an early 14-7 lead. The Huskies went on an 11-5 run that brought NIU to within one, but they Huskies were unable to keep the momentum going and lost the set 25-20.

Freshman middle blocker Maddy Katchen and sophomore middle blocker Brinley Milbrath contributed two kills each in the set.

The third set was even-paced as the Panthers had a 20-19 lead on the Huskies late. The Panthers responded to the close match by converting four of the next five points en route to finishing the Huskies 25-22. Freshman outside hitter Jori Radtke recorded seven kills for the match.

Gooden and the coaching staff believe the team is slowly progressing, even with the 0-4 start to the season.

“[The team] rallied a little better tonight and had a better offensive output,” Gooden said. “We put ourselves in position to make positive plays happen.”

The Huskies will look to bounce back and get their first win of the season at the Oregon Invitational where they will face the Loyola Marymount University Lions, the University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley Vipers and the University of Oregon Ducks.

Gooden believes it is challenging for players to balance a busy game schedule with the first week of class, particularly for the younger players on the team.

“The returning [players] have a good handle on [balancing school and play] and I think a lot of the new [players] need to try to understand how to find that balance,” Gooden said.

The Oregon Invitational begins with a match against the Lions 1 p.m. Friday in Eugene, Oregon. The Huskies will continue the tournament against the Vipers 8 p.m. Friday and against the Ducks 2 p.m. Saturday.