DeKALB — NIU volleyball snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday, beating the University of Miami-Ohio Redhawks in a thrilling comeback victory. 

The Huskies came out slow in the first set, dropping into a quick 10-5 deficit after the Redhawks went on a 5-0 run. Redhawks sophomore middle blocker Maggie McCrary had three straight kills to force an early Huskies timeout. The Huskies  showed some fight, trading points back and forth with the Redhawks. Eventually, NIU went down by as many as seven in the set.

“We have to get used to doing things we haven’t done in a couple of years,” head coach Ray Gooden said about the team’s early struggles. “Playing different teams back-to-back nights keeps us from coming out as strong out of the gates.” 

The Huskies eventually put together a couple of runs that ended with junior setter Grace Balenseifer putting down a kill to give the Huskies a 23-22 lead. The Redhawks called a timeout to try to ice the Huskies, and it worked. The Redhawks scored on three consecutive plays, two kills and one block, to stun the Huskies and steal the set 25-23. 

Instead of coming back from a lead, the Huskies had to try and preserve one in the second set. The Huskies had a commanding seven-point lead whittled down to 21-18.

The Redhawks went on a 7-2 run, led by senior outside Sophie Riemersa’s three kills.  Riemersa’s kills and some sloppy play at the end of the set for the Huskies completed the Redhawks comeback win 25-22. 

“The team was telling themselves how they needed to fight,” Gooden said. “They put in a mindset to take it up a notch.”

The Huskies boosted the energy levels for the remainder of the game, starting with the third set. After keeping the set close with an early 10-7 lead, the Huskies called a timeout to try and slow down the Redhawks. The Huskies would come out swinging following the timeout, going on a 7-1 run. 

Freshmen middle blockers Charli Atiemo and Stella Barr each added in a kill on the run to give the Huskies a 14-11 lead. 

The freshmen frenzy would only be starting. Freshman outside hitter Nikolette Nedic had five kills in the set, along with 23 in the game, to help NIU win the set 25-28. Gooden said he sees Nedic’s confidence grow as the season goes on.

“We’ve seen improvement, and her level of confidence grows as she gains experience,” Gooden said. “Tonight, she took another step, and it was great to see.” 

The fourth set was a collective effort offensively for the Huskies. The Huskies got out to an early  7-3 lead, with Nedic and Atiemo starting the set off with three straight kills combined. The offense was on a roll, with the Huskies having seven different players record a kill in the fourth set. The Huskies won the fourth set 25-18 to force a tiebreaker set. 

The Huskies had another lead to hold on to in the fifth set of the match, and this time they wouldn’t let it go. NIU got out to a quick 3-0 lead after a Redhawks service error and back-to-back Nedic kills. 

The two teams traded points back and forth, with the biggest Huskie lead being four points. Only three Huskies were needed on the offensive side of the net, with junior setter Ella Mihacevich and junior outside Kaitlyn Bell recording three kills in the set each to complete the comeback. 

The Huskies have another set of road games starting at 5:30 p.m. Friday when they travel to Muncie, Indiana, to take on the Ball State University Cardinals.