Volleyball crushes Chicago State, 3-0

By ANDY PRUSKI

If the NIU women’s volleyball team was struggling on the court lately, someone must have forgot to tell Chicago State.

The Huskies showed no ill effects of their recent slump by dominating the Cougars on the road, in a three-game sweep which included a 30-13 win in the middle game.

NIU is now one-game closer to reaching .500, sitting with a 6-7 record while CSU extends its losing streak to four matches and lowers its record to 1-12.

“Tonight’s win was very good for the team,” NIU head coach Ray Gooden said. “I think our whole team had a chance to make contributions.

While NIU’s outside hitters were effective attacking the ball, much of the Huskies damage came in their service game.

Sophomore Monica Lang’s three aces led an NIU offense that recorded 10 total.

When CSU was able to get a return in, outside hitter Dani D’Ambrose and middle blocker Katie Walsh were often ready to return the favor. D’Ambrose recorded a game-high 15 kills, while Walsh was good for 12, which is a season-high. The middle blocker also hit for a .611 clip.

“The good thing about our group is that we feel that people can contribute all the time,” Gooden said. “Katie was an example of that tonight. She came out, played well, and did well for the team.”

Defensively, the Huskies didn’t allow a single Cougar to reach double-digit kills, and as a team, held them to a .000 clip.