Oct. 1, 2009

Final Stats

Final Box

DeKALB, Ill. - The Northern Illinois volleyball team lost to Mid-American Conference opponent Western Michigan in four sets on Thursday night at Victor E. Court as the Huskies (6-10, 0-3 MAC) took the first set 25-20, but the Broncos (11-7, 3-0 MAC) rallied to take the final three sets, 25-17, 25-22, 25-18.

"For the second match in a row, I thought we came out with a very strong first set," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "The next phase of our development is being able to maintain that in the second set and throughout the entire match."

NIU jumped out to a nice start by out-killing WMU 17 to 10 in the first set and ending on a 5-0 run. However, once the second set started the Broncos found a good rhythm, opening a 12-6 lead that turned into a win.

After the break, NIU grabbed an early 9-5 lead in the third set following three straight Bronco miscues, but Western Michigan recovered with a 12-4 run to take a 17-13 lead that helped the Broncos finish the set. WMU then rode its momentum into the fourth set and broke a 10-10 tie with a 7-2 spurt to claim a 17-12 advantage that the Huskies could not recover from.

"When you come out of the break tied 1-1, we call the third set the swing game because the momentum can swing either way," Gooden said. "Fortunately for us, we were ahead early. But unfortunately, the momentum swung the other way, which in turn, helped them win the match."

Junior Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North) led the Huskie defense with a career-best 34 digs, marking the fifth time in her last six matches that she has had 20 or more digs.

"This is the first match this year that Maddie commanded the team on the court," Gooden said. "She was able to allow the team to funnel Western's swings towards her. We knew that her confidence was at a high level tonight, like it normally is, and it was fun to watch. I was really proud of her."

Three more Huskies reached double-digits in digs as well. Sophomore Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton) tallied 13 along with 22 kills for her seventh double-double of the season. Sophomore Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) netted her third career double-double with a career-high tying 12 digs and 48 assists. Junior Dani D'Ambrose totaled a season-high 10 digs.

Offensively, senior Meagan Schoenrock (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) registered 13 kills, giving her nine matches this season with 10-plus kills.

The Huskies return to Victor E. Court on Saturday at 7 p.m. CT to face Miami (Ohio). The match will have live stats available via GameTracker on niuhuskies.com.