Volleyball (18-10, 14-2 MAC) defeated Western Michigan and Bowling Green to end the season, sweeping both teams en route to winning the MAC regular season championship.

Western Michigan

The Huskies started the game with a 5-0 run, a lead they held for the entire set. The Broncos were able to keep close, but couldn’t takeover the game as NIU took 25-20 win.

Western Michigan came out stronger in the second set, leading 11-8 and giving NIU a lot of trouble early on. NIU was able to close the gap and pull of its second straight win 25-20.

The third set proved to be just as competitive as the first two. Both teams battled back-and-forth in a set that would ultimately decide the game. The Huskies went on another late run, winning the set 25-19 and sweeping the Broncos.

Bowling Green

Both teams went back-and-forth and traded leads early on. NIU went on a run midway through the set, taking a 22-13 lead and winning 25-19.

NIU led 14-7 midway through the second set, a lead it was able to maintain until the set’s end. The Falcons did all they could to close the big deficit but took a 25-16 loss.

The Huskies had a chance at yet another game sweep and took advantage of the opportunity in the final set against the Falcons. They held an 18-8 lead, one of their biggest leads of the game, and went on to win 25-15 for their biggest set win of the day.

“First and foremost, I want to thank our group for the work they put in,” said head coach Ray Gooden, according to an NIU Athletics news release. “It not only speaks to our current team, but to so many kids who played in our program. It was good for us to play a competitive match with a young up and coming Bowling Green team. It was nice for us to finish in a positive note.”

The Huskies will move on to play in the MAC Tournament starting at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in Athens, Ohio. They earned a double bye for the first round and their first opponent will be named later this week.