The NIU volleyball team’s in-conference skid continued as the Huskies lost to Ball State and Toledo this weekend.

The Huskies dropped both contests on the road in three-game sweeps.

NIU played a point-for-point battle with Ball State (15-8 overall, 8-4 MAC) in game one, as the two teams were tied at 28. The Cardinals then produced two clutch kills to win 30-28.

Those two crucial kills released the fury of the Cardinals as the team went on to beat the Huskies (12-15, 4-8) by scores of 30-10 and 30-14 in route to the sweep.

“It was a bad night,” fourth-year coach Ray Gooden said. “After that tough loss [in game one], we just couldn’t rebound the way that we wanted to. They really made us pay for it, taking advantage of our mistakes.”

Middle blockers Kate McCullagh and Corinne Walsh led the Huskies with 12 and 11 kills, respectively.

McCullagh also earned a double-double in the loss as she chipped in with 10 digs.

NIU’s luck didn’t improve Saturday afternoon, as the Huskies fell to Toledo (14-10, 7-5).

The Huskies once again started the afternoon with a dog fight in game one.

NIU almost tasted victory as they were serving game point with a 29-27 lead.

The Huskies earned the game-point opportunity from a service error by the Rockets. This was a crucial turning point for NIU as Toledo’s offense is based on serving, as it is the leader in the MAC for service aces per game.

The Huskies couldn’t close the door on the Rockets though, as the Rockets came back to win game one 37-35.

The Huskies again couldn’t pull themselves together after a tough game one loss, and Toledo finished the sweep with scores of 30-25, 30-22 to end the Huskies’ weekend.

“It was just like last night,” Gooden said. “We just couldn’t make that one play to end the game.”

McCullagh and Walsh led the team offensively again by producing 12 and 10 kills, and junior libero Gina Guide dominated the defensive effort with a team-high 17 digs.