Defending volleyball MAC Champions could not be brought down by the Huskies on Saturday as the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks won the game 23-25, 25-14, 25-15, 25-15.

NIU grabbed the first match while hitting .241 to the .211 of the RedHawks (15-9 overall, 9-3 MAC). Cassie Yates was five-for-five in kills as the Huskies (14-12, 6-6) capitalized on 10 errors by Miami.

After the first match, things turned around for the RedHawks. Miami hit .280 down the stretch compared to NIU’s sub-.100 hitting percentage.

“I thought we played a good game,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “Just not enough energy to sustain with a good Miami team.”

The RedHawks outscored the Huskies 56-31 the rest of the way as they took the final three matches for the win.

Yates posted 12 kills for the game and hit a team high .348. Meagan Schoenrock had 13 kills, while Amanda Tadla had 20 assists and eight digs. Freshman Allison McGlaughlin posted 10 digs, along with 11 digs from Maddie Hughes and Maria Benitez.

“It’s just a lesson learned,” Gooden said. “They’re defending champions for a good reason.”