Freshman defensive specialist Megan Sprangers knew that the Huskies didn’t play their best, despite beating a 2-8 Chicago State team in three games.

“We definitely let them come back in the game,” Sprangers said. “They didn’t do it on their own abilities. It was us making mistakes, not them making plays.”

NIU (3-3) took Game 1 32-30 but almost dropped the game despite possessing a 24-16 lead. Sloppy play was evident throughout the whole match for the Huskies, but especially in the first game when they had an attack percentage of -.053.

For the match, the Huskies hit at .113. Outside hitter Tenisha Wilkins had only two kills in limited play, but did smash home the winning match point. Jen VonderHaar led the team with 12 kills and fellow middle blocker Rena Widboom added 11.

Junior Brooke Dodson, who came off a career-high 14 kills on Saturday against Loyola-Chicago, was limited to five while committing five errors.

Eventually the Huskies cut down their hitting errors from 13 in Game 1 to eight in Game 2. In Game 3 they had six while hitting .300.

“When you play those kinds of teams you need to show them who you are,” sophomore Tera Lobdell said. “We did not do that today. It’s disappointing.”

Lobdell contributed eight kills in her debut on Victor E. Court. She had been out due to a sprained left knee.

There were many contributions on the night, many of which came from new faces. Shara Parker had nine digs while filling in at libero for starter Melissa Benson.

Alexis Hofmann also had seven digs and Sprangers started a few rallies for the Huskies as she finished with four service aces.

The Huskies used all 13 players and many different lineups were tested by coach Gooden.

“Megan Sprangers comes in and does a great job,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “We’re gonna need Megan somewhere down the line. Shara Parker comes in and does a great job passing the ball. We’re gonna need her somewhere. We can’t get locked into a lineup.”

The win ended the Huskies three-match losing streak and evened up their record. However, Gooden is still displeased about the teams’ inconsistency.

“In all the games, we either start off really good or really bad,” Gooden added. “Then we either let down or pick it back up. With the exception of one game this year, every game of every match has been like that. That’s just being inconsistent. I think some people are going to really have to start putting themselves out there and taking that risk to be successful instead of making errors.”