DeKALB – The final match of the series between  NIU volleyball and Ball State University proved the Mid-American Conference West Division is still up for grabs.

Ball State left the Huskies struggling to find answers as the Cardinals wiped NIU with a 3-0 sweep.

Sophomore outside hitter Nikolette Nedic said the effects of NIU’s 3-1 defeat the evening prior carried over to Saturday.

“Last night’s (Friday) loss was carried over to today (Saturday),” Nedic said. “We were just, kind of, as a team, we weren’t feeling it. We don’t really know what happened. There was just some confusion on the court and just a lot of miscommunication but we’re ready for the next match.”

NIU saw Ball State’s senior outside hitter Natalie Risi smash a game-high 11 balls. Senior outside hitter Natalie Mitchem and junior middle blocker Lauren Gilliland combined for all of Ball State’s 10 team blocks.

Making necessary adjustments

After a 3-1 beating by the Cardinals on Friday, head coach Ray Gooden and the Huskies made switches to their lineup and rotations in an attempt to force a series split.

These adjustments gave an opportunity for freshman defensive specialist Olivia Hogan to make her first collegiate start.

“(Olivia) has been playing, just, at a high level and doing some really good things,” Gooden said. “She’s got great energy for our team. She for sure deserves it.”

Hogan contributed to NIU’s defense with 11 digs, the second-most on the team. Sophomore libero Francesca Bertucci had one more dig to lead the Huskies.

“We just got stuck,” Gooden said. “Yesterday, we knew that we got stuck on one particular rotation.

Ball State came out on top in the series’ first match on Friday. NIU claimed the third set as the Cardinals won in four.

Cardinal domination

Ball State asserted itself as a threat from the start of the match. The Cardinals were the first to the board in each set with back-to-back points.

NIU was prevented from reaching the 20s in the first two sets as BSU snatched wins of 25-13 and 25-17.

Big run sets the tone

The opening set on Friday saw the lead switch hands twice as the Huskies went up 7-4 early. BSU came back to tie the set at 11 and soon passed NIU up on the scoreboard. NIU went into the first media timeout with a 15-12 deficit.

Ball State came out of the timeout and built on the two consecutive scores they had prior to the timeout. BSU ultimately took themselves to a 23-12 lead after putting up ten consecutive points. NIU broke the opposing streak with its final score of the setl. The set ended in a 25-13 Ball State win after back-to-back Cardinal scores.

New set, same trend

NIU couldn’t catch up to Ball State, who rolled to a 25-17 second set win and a commanding 2-0 match lead.

The Ball State defense contained NIU to a combined hitting percentage of -0.14 through two sets.

NIU goes down with a fight

The third set was a hard-fought one as the Huskies took Ball State down to the wire. NIU rallied back from an 8-0 deficit to make it a one-point game, down 19-18. The Cardinals slipped away and claimed the set 25-22.

“I think there was a good battle in the third set,” Hogan said. “We did what we could and we’re going to take this week to work on what we can to finish strong in the conference.”

With back-to-back losses behind them, NIU ended the match at fourth place in the MAC. The Huskies, who entered Saturday’s match in second, fell behind Ball State and the University of Toledo (13-6, 6-3 MAC).

NIU will be on the road for the next four matches of its schedule. The Huskies will spend the next two weekends in the state of Ohio to face off with three MAC opponents. A two-game series against Toledo will be played at 5 p.m. CT Friday and 3 p.m. CT Saturday.