Going into Wednesday’s match against Ohio, the NIU volleyball team knew it was facing the most efficient offense in the conference.

“We knew they were going to attack from all over the place,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “They’re a physical team and they kept us on our heels.”

With six players averaging more than two kills per game on the season, the Bobcats used their offensive versatility to hit .473 for the match.

“All of them are good hitters,” NIU sophomore middle blocker Kate McCullagh said. “It makes it hard to cover them because they didn’t have a go-to scorer for us to camp out on.”

Ohio, which lost only one individual game in conference play this season, was in danger of losing Game 1 with the score tied at 22. But the Bobcats used constant offensive pressure and hard kills to take the momentum and eventually sweep the match 3-0.

“They make errors like any other team,” NIU senior outside hitter Tera Lobdell said. “But the reason they win all the time is they put constant pressure on you and they don’t let up.”