Dodson, Lobdell and Walsh make all-tourney

By Jason Watt

School records were caught and one was shattered as three Huskies made the all-tournament team at the NIU Comfort Inn and Suites Invitational.

Brooke Dodson, Tera Lobdell and Corinne Walsh all made the team.

Lobdell set the NIU record for attempts in a match with 85 against Valparaiso. The old record was 75 set by Mandy Swick in 1999.

Lobdell had no idea she set the record and joked about what she will do after all the attempts.

“I guess I am going to ice my shoulder,” Lobdell said.

Along with her 85 attempts, she now owns the No. 4 spot on the Huskies’ all-time list with 32 kills in a match.

Setter Marie Zidek tied the NIU record with 85 assists in the five-game match against the Crusaders. Shelby Snyder set the record in 1991.

Middle blocker Corinne Walsh now holds the No. 3 spot in hitting percentage in a five-game match. She had a .500 percentage against Valpo with 21 kills.

For the tournament, Walsh had 37 kills, 18 digs, two solo blocks and 12 blocking assists. But it was her line of 21 kills, 12 digs and eight total blocks versus Valpo that got her praise from NIU coach Ray Gooden.

“Corinne just had a career night,” Gooden said. “It was just a real solid performance all the way around. She had great blocks, great digs, everything. She really shined when we needed her the most.”

Dodson finished the tournament with 49 kills and 32 digs. She also set a career-high in kills in a five-game match with 17.

Lobdell finished with 59 kills, 44 digs, six blocking assists and three solo blocks for the tournament.

“Tera and Brooke, they did a great job for us,” Gooden said. “They had some really big kills for us. They both did great serving and played good defense.”

Dodson thinks the reason for the success was because they played as a team, not just individuals.

“Tera and I were giving each other nods saying, ‘Hey, you know what? Just keep truckin’,” Dodson said. “Corinne, that girl just kept putting the ball down. It was great to have everyone contribute like they did [Saturday]. It makes all of our jobs a lot easier when that happens.”