The NIU volleyball team ended non-conference play with three straight losses over the weekend to go into conference play with a 7-7 record.

The Huskies lost to Montana, Portland, and Denver at the Denver Invitational.

The closest of the three was a loss to Montana on Friday night. The Huskies fell in three games by the score of 32-30, 30-28, and 30-28.

The difference in the game between the two teams was self-inflicted errors, NIU coach Ray Gooden said. NIU committed nine service errors in the three games and seven ball-handling errors.

“We had a lot of errors tonight,” Gooden said. “To have all those errors and to only lose by six points is unfortunate.”

The Huskies couldn’t find a way to strike back against Portland or Denver on Saturday.

The Huskies lost to Portland 3-1, and they fell to Denver 3-0 Saturday night.

Portland’s defense proved to be too strong for a Huskies offense that put up better statistics than Portland.

Junior middle blocker Kate McCullagh recorded 22 kills, and sophomores Amy Ward and Laura Baetzel added 12 and 11 kills, respectively, in the loss.

Junior libero Gina Guide tried to offset the Pilots’ strong defense with her own performance. Guide led NIU by posting a career-high 27 digs in a four-game set.