COLUMBIA, Mo. | The volleyball team saw a repeat of 2001 when they lost in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament Thursday against University Of Missouri in Columbia, Missouri.

Missouri controlled most of the game and defeated the Huskies in straight sets (25-16, 25-13, 25-20) to knock the Huskies out of their bid for a NCAA championship and successfully ending their season.

“Missouri was a step ahead of us and played error free,” said Head Coach Ray Gooden. “I thought they did a good job of taking care of their side of the net and putting us under a lot of pressure.”

Senior middle blocker Jenna Radtke had six kills for the Huskies and continued her impressive season with a .667 hitting percentage. Lauren Zielinski, redshirt senior middle blocker, added five kills while junior setter Chandler Kinley had 13 assists.

The first two sets were controlled by Missouri as the Huskies struggled to score points. By the end of the second set, Missouri was ahead of the Huskies in kills (33-19), hitting percentage (.389-.190), aces (8-0) and blocks (5-1).

The third set saw NIU battle for its season. The Huskies got out to an early 3-0 lead, but the Tigers came back to take a 7-6 lead and never looked back. The Tigers then scored 11 of the next 14 points to take a commanding 18-9 lead. The Huskies cut it close to 24-20, but the Tigers offense proved to be too much as they took the final set, 25-20.

Although the Huskies were not able to pass the first round of the NCAA Tournament, they have an impressive season to look back on.

“We won 20 of our last 22 matches led by [senior outside hitter Mary Grace Kelly] and [Radtke],” Gooden said. “Who a year ago vowed to make things different after losing to Ohio in the MAC Championship in Athens, Ohio; I thought with them and the other four seniors did an amazing job leading this group and putting us into a spot we haven’t been to in awhile and a spot we’d like to return to again.”