March 1, 2006
Toledo, OH - The Northern Illinois University volleyball squad knew that the odds were against them as they took on top-seeded and 21st ranked Ohio University in the Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals at Toledo's SeaGate Centre on Friday night.
They also knew that they wouldn't go down without a fight.
The #8 Huskies gave the Bobcats all that they could handle, but Ohio held on for the 30-28, 30-11, 27-30, 32-30 triumph, snapping NIU's four-match winning streak and advancing to the MAC semifinals against #5 Toledo at 6 p.m. (CST) on Saturday evening.
"We fought hard," NIU head coach Ray Gooden said. "We were a couple of plays away from stealing game one, unfortunately, Ohio really turned it on in game two and took it to us like they did when we were at home.
"The good thing was that our team was able to rally, fight back and steal game three," Gooden continued. "We were a play or two from taking it to a fifth game."
With the win, Ohio improves to 27-2 overall, while NIU ends the 2005 campaign with a record of 16-17.
Ohio spread the wealth among its squad, as the Bobcats had four different players with double-digit kills. Sophomore middle blocker Melissa Griffin, senior middle blocker Julia Winkfield and sophomore outside hitter Stephanie Blackburn each garnered 14 kills, while teammate Holly Schetzsle chipped in 13 kills in the victory.
NIU junior middle blocker Kate McCullagh (Woodstock) tallied a match-high 23 kills, while teammates Corinne Walsh (Evergreen Park) and Amy Ward (Sycamore) each posted 13 and 10 kills respectively.
Junior libero Gina Guide (Orland Park/Sandburg) collected 20 digs on the evening, breaking the NIU career-record of 1,455 digs set by Nikki Kozak (1990-93) in just three seasons. Guide now has 1,472 digs for her career.
The first game between the two squads proved to be a heartbreaker for the Huskies, as the Bobcats rallied from a 25-20 deficit, outscoring NIU 10-3 down the stretch to earn the 30-28 win. During that span, Winkfield collected four kills to help propel the rally.
"We just lost momentum," Gooden said. "They really stepped it up and we really weren't able to make that confident play and take that step that we needed to."
The frustrating outcome of game one seemed to carry into the second contest as Ohio jumped out to the early 14-4 lead and never looked back on their way to the 30-11 win over the Huskies.
"Everything kind of spiraled downwards for us in game two," Gooden said. "They turned it on, every ball that we swung, they touched.
"They really made every single play and had control of game."
NIU, however, would not go away quietly in the third contest, as the Huskies came back from an 18-12 deficit on their way to the 30-27 triumph, pushing the match to a fourth-game.
"We went back at the break, refocused, came out and fought hard in game three," Gooden said. "It's a thing that we've been working on, and we accomplished it today."
The fourth game was a seesaw affair that featured 18 ties and six lead changes, but in the end, the Bobcats proved too much to handle, earning the 32-30 win and the match.
Despite the loss, Gooden was proud of the way his squad performed over the past few weeks.
"We played really good team volleyball down the stretch," Gooden said. "The girls really made an effort to play hard for each other and that's the best part of this right now."
(For further information, please contact Matt Brendich) -- NIU --
