Facing a Chicago State team that won four matches a year ago, the NIU volleyball team won its fourth match in a row and remained undefeated Tuesday night at Victor E. Court.

The Huskies swept the Cougars 30-23, 30-27 and 30-27, but left coach Ray Gooden looking for more consistent play, even though they’re off to their best start since 1998, when they began the season 7-0.

“I’m worried about every match right now, just because our team is so young,” Gooden said. “It’s great that we started the way we did and that helps build our confidence, but in the same sense we can’t have that much of a let-down, or else we’re not going to be as successful as we want to be.”

After a sweep of three teams Gooden said are probably NCAA Tournament-caliber at home this weekend, the Huskies had trouble putting away the Cougars (0-1).

NIU nearly allowed them to recover from an 8-point deficit in the third game. NIU fell behind 1-5 in the third game, before going on a 17-5 run to take an 8-point lead. The Huskies then let Chicago State climb back in to nearly force a fourth game.

“I think we still were thinking about last weekend and some people were a little tired,” junior middle blocker Megan Markowski said. “It’s pretty much the common ups and downs of the season, but we’re trying to get rid of that inconsistency. Today was tough, though.”

Huskie senior Brooke Dodson finished with a team-high 12 kills, while Markowski and Shara Parker had 9 apiece.

Parker, who replaced MAC Player of the Week Tera Lobdell, also led the team with 12 digs.

Chicago State coach Heidi Cartisser was happy with the way her team competed with the Huskies.

“I was pleased with the way we kept fighting, even with the big deficit in that third game,” Cartisser said.