The losing streak is over after the NIU volleyball team took down Bowling Green Saturday night to end a three-game skid.

After going 2-3 on the team’s longest road trip of the season, the Huskies looked forward to returning to the Convocation Center. The win at home improves the Victor E. Court record to 13-2.

“It was really nice to be home, comfortable and familiar,” said sophomore middle blocker Mary Kurisch. “We wanted to come out and use our crowd’s energy and play a great match.”

It took the Huskies (24-5 overall, 10-4 MAC) only three sets to defeat the Falcons (8-21, 2-12). NIU maintained a spread offensive approach throughout the match allowing for several Huskies to near or obtain double-digit kills. Freshmen Sarah Angelos and Lauren Wicinski earned 10 and 11 kills, respectively, with Angelos connecting a .471 hitting percentage and three block assists.

The blocking game stepped up to earn 14 block assists, and was a key component in the win, said NIU head coach Ray Gooden.

“Anytime our team can score some fast points, I think it helps us,” Gooden said. “Fast points we equate to either aces or stuff blocks. We work hard on our ability to touch the ball with a block or our dig and then transition…We have to work really hard on the little things which helps us in the big picture.”

After dropping a Western division matchup on Thursday to Western Michigan (18-8, 8-4), the Huskies sought to return home and feel more comfortable in their play.

“We wanted to have a good showing especially after the tough loss on Thursday,” Gooden said. “At the end of the tough road trip, it’s really nice to really let loose and feel comfortable again.”

Bowling Green, however, did not go down without a fight, taking the second set to extra points before losing 26-24.

“Sometimes they were scrappy,” Kurisch said. “We weren’t expecting them to get a ball up and they would scrap over the net. We were out of system a little bit.”

It would be Kurisch at the end of the match to seal the deal for the win, with a kill off the set from junior Kristin Hoffman. Kurisch tallied nine kills, a .571 hitting percentage and four block assists, while Hoffman added 36 assists on the night. When Kurisch’s kill went down, Gooden felt happy not only for the win, but for Kurisch’s effort.

“I thought that was Mary’s most aggressive swing of the night,” Gooden said. “It kind of put a stamp on the evening. We were able to get a good touch, get a good transition, and finish the point, which finished the game and the match.”