Sweeping the University of Iowa Hawkeyes 3-0 Tuesday night to extend the Huskies’ winning streak to 13 games, senior Carrie Blankenship got the win she wanted against her hometown team.

“I think our team played with a lot of heart,” said the outside hitter. “We really wanted this game and it was a lot of fun to play.”

Hitting for a .217 percentage with nine digs, Kress thought that Blankenship did well despite forcing her play in the first two games.

“She was pressing because she wanted to win so badly,” Kress said. “But she’s a team player and I know she couldn’t be happier with us beating them in three and beating them handily.”

Although the Huskies did win all three games, Iowa played neck-and-neck with NIU in the first two games, with both going down to the wire.

In Game 1, outside hitter Tenisha Wilkins tied the game at 29 with a kill, which setter Jenny Bowman followed with a kill of her own to give NIU a one-point advantage, 30-29. Needing to win by two, middle hitter Jen Vonderhaar gave the Huskies what they were looking for to win 31-29, with a devastating kill into the pool of Hawkeye blockers.

Ending with the same score as Game 1, freshman outside hitter Tera Lobdell saw the pinnacle of her game with one of her 13 kills on the day, sending the Huskies into the locker room 2-0 for a short intermission.

“In Game 1 we talked in the locker room about simply coming out and making a statement and dominating in Game Three,” Kress said. “And I think we did just that.”

Winning 30-19, the Huskies pulled away from Iowa midway through the game and never looked back.

With a kill from fifth-year senior Sara Lein, the Huskies accomplished more than just getting another W in the win column.

“This was a huge win, but not just for us, but for the MAC as a whole,” said Wilkins.

Contributing heavily to the Huskies’ win was Lobdell, who was cranking the ball and coming through for the team when they needed it, according to Blankenship.

“I haven’t been playing as well as I can the past week and I just came out and put everything behind me,” Lobdell said.

Ending with a .478 hitting percentage and facing Iowa’s Sara Meyermann, who finished with a game-high 21 kills, Lobdell performed unlike a rookie.

“When you look at a freshman, the thing about Tera, she is playing against a Big Ten program and playing against the biggest block (Meyermann) she’s going to have to face all year and she only has two errors and she hits .478,” Kress said. “So arguably it’s the best match she’s had all year.”

Also stepping up her play was Wilkins, who had a .441 hitting percentage with a team-high 19 kills.

“T (Tenisha) and Tera tonight just lit it up offensively,” said Kress. “They were just fun to watch. Every time the ball went to them, they put it away for us.”

Wilkins and Lobdell also tied with a team-high 10 defensive digs apiece.

Defensive specialist Coley Johnsen did not play after missing practice.