Trailing two games to one, the volleyball team looked to be heading to a Game 5 with a 26-22 lead in Game 4 over Illinois State.

However, like most of the night, scores can be deceiving. The Huskies gave up four straight points and ultimately fell to the Redbirds 31-29 as they lost 28-30, 30-26, 24-30, 31-29 on Victor E. Court at the Convocation Center.

NIU falls to 1-3 on the season, while ISU improves to 3-1.

“We just needed to challenge them,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “We gave them a lot of points.”

The Huskies almost stole the first game after trailing 1-7 by battling back and pulling within one at 28-29.

One of the biggest problems NIU had was attacking. The Huskies hit for .107 clip while committing 42 errors.

“We beat ourselves,” outside hitter Irene Johnson said. “They are a good team, but we could have beat them if we were more consistent.”

Johnson finished with a game-high 19 kills, while Meagan Schoenrock added 15.

ISU’s attacked was spread out with Peggy Riessen’s 18 kills, followed by Kari Staehlin’s 16 and M.C. Richmond’s 10.

“We need more experience,” Gooden said. “The players roles are evolving and there’s a lot of pressure on the younger players to adjust.”