The NIU volleyball team continued its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde impression this weekend.

One week after beating up on winless MAC opponents Buffalo and Bowling Green, the Huskies (10-8, 3-3 in MAC) were manhandled this weekend at Victor E. Court by Marshall and Eastern Michigan.

“Two different Northern teams played this weekend, one with heart and one without it,” coach Ray Gooden said.

The first team that assaulted NIU was Marshall University on Friday night.

Marshall (13-5, 4-1 MAC) won in straight sets 30-25, 30-23 and 30-28.

Tera Lobdell was the only Huskie to have double digit kills with 11, while the Thundering Herd had four players in double digits. Isabell Anderer led Marshall with 12 kills.

Jen VonderHaar, who leads the Huskies in hitting percentage, played in only one game this weekend because of a slight tear in her right rotator cuff. The only match she played in was against Marshall when she had no kills in five attempts.

Amanda Newlin and Brooke Dodson struggled for NIU as they combined for one kill in 23 attempts.

Junior Alex Hofmann filled in for VonderHaar and pitched in with seven kills and a .333 hitting percentage against Marshall.

“I think Alex did a really good job this weekend,” Gooden said.

This latest team effort put Gooden in a position to try new things and new players.

“We are searching,” Gooden said. “We are searching to find some players who really want to make a difference right now. We had more energy, but it was the same result.”

Kerri Royer got her first conference start of the season as she split time with Jenny Rohren. Royer finished with 26 assists to Rohren’s 11.

It was the same story as the night before for the Huskies as they lost in straight sets for the second time in as many days.

This time, NIU fell victim to Eastern Michigan with a final of 30-18, 30-23 and 30-24.

“It is kind of a reality check,” outside hitter Tenisha Wilkins said. “It really is a gut check when people come into your home court and blow you out in three games.”

It was the first time since the 1999 season that the Huskies lost two straight home matches in straight sets. In ’99, they fell to Florida State University and Miami (Ohio).

With the score tied 4-4 in the first game, the Eagles went on a 15-2 run to break the backs of the Huskies and any hopes of them winning that game.

“We knew that they were very scrappy and they don’t let balls drop,” Gooden said. “We just couldn’t get ourselves in a spot to get ourselves some points.”

In the second game, the Huskies held a 9-5 lead before the Eagles went on a 25-12 run to end the game.

One bright spot in this match happened in the second game when Wilkins broke Amber Howard’s (95-98) career kill attempts mark of 3,494.

“I am excited about that,” Tenisha Wilkins said. “It’s kind of a short celebration because I want to do some things and focus more on helping the team win.”

Lobdell again led the Huskies with a game-high 17 kills and also had a game-high 18 digs.

“It should be easier to play at home and we should have at least brought them to four [games],” Lobdell said.