DeKALB | It wasn’t the way the players wanted it to happen, but nevertheless, the NIU volleyball team picked up its first MAC West regular-season championship since 2001.

The Huskies lost to the Western Michigan 3-1 Thursday night in front of a Victor E. Court record-crowd of 612 screaming Huskie fans. They lost 26-30, 28-30, 30-24 and 26-30.

But Eastern Michigan beat Central Michigan to give the Huskies the crown.

The loss put the Huskies at 17-8, 10-3 in the MAC, while the Broncos moved to 15-12, 5-8 in the MAC.

The Huskies had a six-point lead in Game 2 and a five-point lead in Game 4 but couldn’t manage to hold on.

“They willed themselves [the Broncos] to play better,” coach Ray Gooden said. “I’ll feel better about the championship tomorrow.”

There were some controversial calls that helped stir up the already-tremendous intensity of the game.

“It goes every way; the refs didn’t beat us tonight,” Gooden said.

Kate McCullagh and Meagan Schoenrock posted 36 and 56 kills respectively. Schoenrock, a freshman from Ohio, was appreciative about earning the MAC West crown.

“It’s amazing to win the championship,” Schoenrock said. “I’m just happy to be a part of it.”

The Huskies still have three games to play before the MAC championship begins.

They will take on Miami-Ohio (12-14, 8-5 in the MAC) on Saturday in Miami.

Gooden says the team will stay focused for the remainder of the season and not get ahead of themselves.

“We’ve always just tried to look at what’s in front of us and attack it,” Gooden said.

NIU will end the regular season next weekend, playing both Akron (7-19, 1-11 in the MAC) and Buffalo (13-16, 2-10 in the MAC) at home.

Coach Gooden’s team will begin their quest for a MAC championship on Nov. 14, when the tournament gets underway.