In an up-and-down match, the NIU volleyball team wasn’t able to climb the momentum hill enough to pull out a victory.

The Huskies fell to in-state rival Illinois State in five sets, 21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 25-23 and 11-15.

“At times we we’re playing at a pretty good level against a pretty good team,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “We just needed to hold up for a longer duration.”

That duration kept eluding the Huskies (2-2) throughout the match despite having numerous opportunities to keep the match close.

The Redbirds (1-2) statistically did everything they could on service to keep NIU in the match.

“Their service errors helped us,” Gooden said. “It took pressure off us to have to always score on serve [receive].”

But ultimately the play of ISU outside hitters Mallory Leggett and Peggy Riessen proved too much for the Huskies to handle. The duo had 23 and 24 kills and a .340 and .333 attack percentage, respectively.

“[Leggett and Reissen] did a good job of adjusting against our block and defense,” Gooden said. “They made smart plays towards the end [of the match].”

Outside hitter Meagan Schoenrock paced the Huskies with 23 kills and a .217 attack percentage.

“[Schoenrock] did a pretty good job of attacking the ball today,” Gooden said.

Huskie defensive specialist Maddie Hughes led the NIU defense with 21 digs and two aces from the service line.

The Huskies fell behind 6-10 in the fifth set but continued to show fight. NIU was able to close the gap to 8-10 forcing the Redbirds to call a time-out.

But in the end, the 47 kills coming from ISU’s two main outsides proved to be the deciding factor, with each adding two kills in the final five points to seal the match.

“[Their outsides] had opportunities to make positive plays … they are both very experienced players having also played in the NCAA tournament,” Gooden said. “But our players are learning to do the same.”