On an emotional Senior Night, seniors Tera Lobdell and Megan Markowski combined for 35 kills and 10 blocks Saturday to help the NIU volleyball team sweep Miami-Ohio 3-0.

“It’s always emotional because it’s their last regular season match at home,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “They’ve given years of hard work, so it is emotional because it is coming to an end and they see it.”

With their fourth straight victory, the Huskies (13-18 overall, 8-8 MAC) clinched a first-round home match in the MAC tournament starting Tuesday. Lobdell and Markowski were given flowers, balloons and plaques before the match began to commemorate their NIU careers.

NIU built an early lead in Game 1 thanks to nine of Lobdell’s 21 kills. The RedHawks came within three points at 23-20, but three kills from sophomore middle blocker Kate McCullagh sealed the game 30-23.

Game 2 saw the Huskies get off to another quick start and an 18-12 lead. But poor digging and an ineffective offense by NIU allowed the RedHawks to score nine straight points and take a late 26-21 lead. But three kills from Markowski jump-started the offense and the Huskies took the game 30-28.

“We tried to settle down,” said Markowski, who contributed 14 kills and six blocks. “We were a little stressed, a little anxious and not doing the things we were working on in practice. So we refocused ourselves, took a deep breath and got things working again.”

Attack and service errors put the Huskies in an early 6-2 hole in Game 3. But after a team time-out, the NIU defense took over and accumulated 13 blocks to put the Huskies ahead en route to a 30-22 victory.

“They had a complex offense and people were flying everywhere,” Lobdell said. “But I think we did a good job touching the ball on the block and playing defense around it.”

Although the seniors will have one more home match in the playoffs thanks to the win, Markowski still saw the night as special.

“It’s always nice to go out on a good note,” Markowski said. “Senior Night is always an emotional time. I know the girls wanted to win for Tera and I, and we wanted a win too.”