Nov. 13, 2009

Final Stats

Final Box

YPSILANTI, Mich. - In the midst of a competitive finish in the Mid-American Conference regular season with a first round bye in view, as one of three teams tied for fourth overall in the league, the Northern Illinois volleyball team did the only thing it could do --- win, and let the rest fall into place.

"I thought we did a real nice job of bouncing back from a tough week," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "We played well and hard together on the road, which was nice to see."

The Huskies (14-13, 8-7 MAC) won by taking the first three sets against Eastern Michigan (5-26, 4-11 MAC) on Friday night at the Convocation Center, as NIU out-hit the Eagles .211 to .162 and out-blocked them 9-2.

"I think the big numbers tonight that helped the match go in our favor were digs, aces and blocks," said Gooden of his Huskies, who also had 65 digs to EMU's 58 and six aces to the Eagles' two.

After a slow start to the first set, trailing 17-12 after calling a timeout, NIU stormed back to take control. Senior Cassie Yates (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte) got it started with a kill and then freshman Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) notched a kill and a block to force EMU to take a timeout. Following an Ashley Mason dump out of the break for the Eagles, the Huskies kept rolling by going on a 10-3 run, fueled by four kills from senior Meagan Schoenrock (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) and two aces from junior Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North), to take the set, 25-21.

"Once we settled down, we were able to play a better style of volleyball," Gooden said. "It was based off our ability to defend and our ability to transition that into offense."

NIU capitalized on its late first-set rally and kept it going in the second set, as the Huskies led 6-1 after an attack error by Rachel Iaquaniello that caused the Eagles to call a timeout. EMU would eventually draw within one point, 8-7, after an attack error by sophomore Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton), but the Huskies separated themselves again by going on a 10-5 run, led by two Romo kills, that helped NIU take the set, 25-18, and a 2-0 advantage in the match.

"Using last week as a building block, we knew that we needed to finish by winning three sets, and not just two," said Gooden.

In the third set, the Huskies got off to a quick start again, as sophomore Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) served up two aces to help NIU score the first four points of the set. However, EMU fought back to tie it, 8-8, after an ace from Victoria Randolph. Several moments later after NIU saw another lead disappear into a 19-19 tie, the Huskies reclaimed the lead for good, as Jennifer Swartz's serve error started the Huskies on a 6-2 run. On the next play, McGlaughlin tallied an ace to force EMU to take a timeout. Out of the break, Romo kept NIU going with a kill, and after a Yates attack error, Romo struck again with an emphatic blast down the left line to help the Huskies end the match a few plays later, 25-21.

"During the break, we talked about how Eastern was probably going to make two strong runs in the third set," Gooden said. "If we were able to withstand those two runs, I thought we would have a good chance to be successful."

Schoenrock led the NIU attack with 19 kills, a .319 attack percentage and four blocks, while Romo totaled a season-high tying 10 kills with a .533 attack percentage. Freshman Mary Kurisch (LaCrosse, Wis./West Salem) added seven kills and led the team with a season-high six blocks. Additionally, Hoffman finished with 39 assists, five digs, two aces, a kill and a block.

Defensively, Hughes registered a team-best 25 digs, while senior Monica Lang (Chicago, Ill./Marist) and McGlaughlin had 14 and 13, respectively.

"We have had matches this season where there were some individual milestones that were achieved, but we lost. It was nice to see that happen tonight with a win."

The Huskies will finish the regular season tomorrow night at 6 p.m. (CDT) with a road contest against Central Michigan.