The hopes of a Mid-American Conference championship have fallen for the NIU volleyball team. But heads are still held high after a great season.

The Huskies fell to Miami (Ohio) 25-21, 22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 6-15, in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American tournament on Friday.

With a 2-1 lead in the match, NIU (18-14) was unable to keep momentum and hold on to its lead.

The Huskies held a 14-11 advantage in the fourth set, but saw it disintegrate after an 8-1 run by the RedHawks (19-10). NIU cut the lead to 19-18, but it was not enough as Miami created a 6-0 run to end the set.

The fifth set was not made for the Huskies as they went down 8-4, and eventually 15-6 to bring the match to an end.

NIU benefited from the 27-20 error differential, but the RedHawks out-hit the Huskies 71 kills to 58.

Outside hitter Irene Johnson led the Huskies with 17 kills and a .410 hitting percentage. Juniors

Meagan Schoenrock and Cassie Yates followed closely with 13 kills each.

Schoenrock and Allison McGlaughlin were both recognized for their tremendous seasons in the MAC.

Schoenrock was named to the All-MAC first team, and McGlaughlin was named to the MAC All-Freshmen team and the All-MAC second team.