Sept. 11, 2010

Final Stats

Final Box

ELON, N.C. - NIU Invitational -- Check. UIC Invitational -- Check. Now add the Elon Classic to the Northern Illinois volleyball team's list of first place finishes in 2010. Resuming the program's most outstanding start to a season, the Huskies swept Stetson, 25-22, 25-18, 25-17, on Saturday afternoon to advance to 11-0 and claim their third invitational title in as many weekends.

"It's been great," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden of his team's hot start and 6-0 road trip. "It's nice for us to come to a different par t of the country and do some positive things."

For the 11th time this year, the Huskies held advantages over their opponent in hitting percentage (.250-.147), kills (49-28), and digs (51-36). NIU also topped the Hatters (1-9) in aces (8-1) and blocks (4-2).

In the only close set of the match, the Huskies held multiple-point leads six times in the first set. However, Stetson fought back throughout the contest to knot the score five times. But with the score tied at 19-19, NIU finally put away the Hatters. Three consecutive kills by sophomore middle blocker Mary Kurisch (LaCrosse, Wis./West Salem) forced Stetson to take a timeout, but Kurisch continued her dominance with yet another kill to give the Huskies a 23-19 lead that would not be overcome.

"After a while, we played our style of volleyball," Gooden said. "Stetson frustrated us early in the match. Then, we started to relax a bit and played some really good volleyball at the end."

NIU opened a 12-8 lead in the second set after a kill by sophomore outside Hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso), causing the Hatters to take a timeout, which helped them close the gap to 16-14. Following an NIU pause in play, freshman middle blocker Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) sparked and ended a 9-4 run with kills to help the Huskies take the set.

In the third stanza, the Huskies trailed early, 4-1, but quickly found their rhythm. A kill from freshman outside hitter Tori Halbur (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) and consecutive aces by sophomore defensive specialist Sue Hayes (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) fueled an 11-4 spurt that gave NIU a 12-8 lead, forcing a Hatter timeout. The break didn't do much good, though, as sophomore middle blocker Sam Grams (Forest Park, Ill./Fenwick) aced the Hatters a few moment later to extend the lead to six, 20-14, and Stetson took another timeout to no avail.

Freshman outside hitter Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) led the Huskies with 13 kills, 12 digs, and an ace for her fifth double-double. For her weekend performance, Wicinski earned her third consecutive all-tournament selection as she totaled team-highs of 44 points (4.40/set) and 38 kills (3.80/set), along with 22 digs (2.20/set) and five aces (0.50/set).

Joining Wicinski on the all-tournament team for the second occasion this season was Kurisch, who tallied eight kills and a .467 hitting percentage with two blocks and an ace against Stetson. Her totals for the tournament include 26.5 points (2.65.set), 18 kills (1.80/set), a team-high seven blocks (0.70/set), and five aces (0.50/set).

The reason Wicinski and Kurisch were able to have successful weekends was due large in part to tournament MVP Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia). The junior setter notched 32 assists, seven digs, and an ace in the final match of the Elon Classic. Under Hoffman's guidance, the NIU offense held significant edges in kills (136-101) and hitting percentage (.235-.146). For the tournament, Hoffman totaled 94 assists (9.40/set), 19 digs (1.90/set), 11 points (1.10/set), six kills (0.60/set), four blocks (0.40/set), and three aces (0.30/set).

"Our whole team did a solid job," Gooden said. "Mary did a good job in the middle. Lauren led our team in points and did a good job of serving. Kristin was the one running the offense -- she ran a really good offense over the weekend."

Romo also reached double figures in kills against the Hatters with 11 on 22 swings for a .455 hitting percentage, adding two blocks to boot.

Senior libero Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North) led the defense with 14 digs.

Next up for the Huskies is a season-long, seven-match home stand. The stretch at Victor E. Court begins Tuesday, September 14, with a contest against Wisconsin at 7:30 p.m. CT. Fans our encouraged to plan ahead and arrive early. NIU students will be admitted free with a valid NIU OneCard. Tickets can be picked up and ordered in advance or on the day of the match. General admission for adults is $5, while children get in for $3. To order tickets, and for more information, go to niuhuskies.com/tickets/ or call Ticketmaster at 800-745-3000.