DeKALB | There were many ups and downs during NIU volleyball’s five-game loss to MAC West leader Bowling Green Saturday in DeKalb.

The Huskies won the first game by eight, lost the next two by a combined 18 points, won Game 4 by two and lost Game 5 by 10.

“[Bowling Green] put it out there tonight and unfortunately we didn’t finish the fight,” said NIU coach Ray Gooden. “We fought at times, but we just didn’t finish it.”

NIU (10-5 overall, 3-1 MAC) started the match scoring the first two points of Game 1 and never looked back. The Huskies held a 12-point lead at one point and took the first game 30-22.

With the score 5-3 in NIU’s favor, BG (14-2, 4-0) went on an 8-0 run. The Huskies countered with their own run to tie the score at 13. Two short runs of three and four points helped the Falcons pull away and win Game 2 30-22.

BG kept their momentum in Game 3, scoring the first three points. The Huskies put up another three in a row, but it would mark the only tie of the game. A 9-2 run with the score at 14-9 put NIU away and the Falcons took Game 3 30-20.

“We did everything we said we were going to do and we did it to start off,” said senior libero Gina Guide. “But after that, it just went out the window.”

The Huskies composed themselves for Game 4 and the teams traded scores. The teams combined for 13 ties in the first 26 points scored. BG went on a 6-0 run with the score tied at 13, but NIU chipped away and tied it up at 27. The Falcons went up one, but the Huskies finished the game with three-straight points and took Game 4 30-28.

Bowling Green proved to be too strong in Game 5 by scoring 11 of the final 13 points. The Falcons took the game and the match 15-5.

“We didn’t have it in us for the fifth game,” Guide said.

The Falcons had four players with at least 10 kills. Stephanie Swiger had 11 and Kendra Halm had 16, with Corey Domek and Madeline Means adding 18 each.

Leading the way for NIU was middle blocker Kate McCullagh with 20 kills. McCullagh has posted at least 20 kills in her fifth-straight match.

Outside hitters Baetzel and Meagan Schoenrock added 15 and 11 kills respectively.

“We had flashes of [good volleyball],” Gooden said. “We just couldn’t get into a rhythm.”