Sept. 4, 2010

Final Stats

Final Box

CHICAGO - Tying 1998's best start in program history, the Northern Illinois volleyball team swept Memphis, 25-13, 25-18, 25-9, at the UIC Invitational on Saturday afternoon at UIC Pavilion. The Huskies are now 7-0 and will play for the title later tonight against Illinois Chicago.

Off to a 2-0 start in the tournament, and on their first road trip of the season, the Huskies kept up their streak of totaling more kills, a better hitting percentage, and more digs than their opponent, a feat that NIU has achieved in all seven matches. The Huskies racked up 39 kills, a .345 hitting percentage, and 42 digs. Memphis (3-2) managed 21 kills, a .036 hitting percentage, and 38 digs. NIU also registered 11 aces and eight blocks, while the Tigers had four and three, respectively.

"We did a good job of controlling Memphis' strength, which is their serving, by handling the ball well to keep our offense spread out," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "We are learning, as it's our first away tournament, to create and feed off our own energy."

The middle blockers were a big reason why the Huskies continued their dominance, as NIU has dropped just three of 24 sets on the year. Freshman Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) was almost unstoppable with nine kills on 11 attempts for a .818 attack percentage, and she added four blocks. Sophomore Mary Kurisch (LaCrosse, Wis./West Salem) chimed in with eight kills on 14 swings for a .500 hitting percentage along with three blocks.

"Our middles are doing a good job of putting themselves in position to be available to score points for us," said Gooden. "They're continuing to be aware of the relationship with the setter and are getting in the air quickly."

Freshman outside hitter Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) notched her third double-double with team highs of 13 kills and 12 digs. She also had three aces, as did sophomore defensive specialst Sue Hayes (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley) and senior libero Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North). Additionally, junior setter Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) accumulated 30 assists and eight digs.

In the opening set, a 7-2 advantage by the Huskies resulted in an early timeout by Memphis after an ace by Hoffman. The run continued out of the break as Kurisch put a ball down, sophomore outside hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) tallied a solo block, and Memphis committed an attack error before scoring again. Later, the Huskies opened up a 10-point lead, 21-11, following a Wicinski ace, and would go on to easily claim the set.

Memphis opened up a brief 6-4 lead in the second stanza, but the Huskies answered quickly. Junior outside hitter Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton) got some help from the net on a kill and Angelos notched a solo block to tie the score, sparking an 8-2 spurt. After a Tiger timeout, NIU maintained a steady lead and caused another timeout from an Angelos block, this time with help from Hoffman, to put the Huskies ahead, 22-17. Out of the quick rest, Hayes aced the Tigers to keep momentum on NIU's side as the Huskies would take a 2-0 lead into the match's third set.

NIU saved its best for the final set, opening up a 6-0 advantage with help from three consecutive aces by Hughes. After a Memphis timeout, the Huskie run extended to 10-0 before the Tigers scored their first point. Everything was going NIU's way, as the 10th NIU point came on a broken play where Wicinski hustled to pass the ball backward over the net and it ended up touching a Memphis back row player before landing out of bounds. A few moments later, Wicinski totaled back-to-back aces to put the Huskies ahead, 14-3, and the Tigers took another timeout. But the break did not slow down NIU at all as the Huskies would keep rolling, forcing five Tiger errors down the stretch, to seal at least a second place finish in the invitational.

"In set three, we did a good job of setting the tone and playing at our level," Gooden said. "We did not allow a very physical Memphis team to play their game."

NIU returns to the court tonight at 7 p.m. CT for the tournament championship match against the host Flames (2-2).