Final Stats

YPSILANTI, Michigan - The NIU volleyball team (13-10, 9-2 MAC) won its fifth-straight road match Friday night as the Huskies defeated Eastern Michigan (12-12, 4-7 MAC) in three sets, 25-19, 25-18, 25-19. Mary Grace Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) paced the Huskies with 10 kills, hitting .529 off the bench. Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) registered 19 digs and four service aces in the contest.

The sweep was Northern Illinois University’s second in as many matches and its sixth in 11 Mid-American Conference matches.

“Eastern Michigan is a tough place to play, they always come out with a lot of energy at home and it was nice for us to have a couple positive breaks in each set to get the win,” said Head Coach Ray Gooden. “We really took care of the ball on our side of the floor tonight which was good because they have weapons in all positions on the court.

“I thought we did a nice job of slowing them down and handling our opportunities as they came to us,” Gooden added. “Mary-Grace (Kelly) had a good rhythm to her game tonight and Anna continued to play strong defensively.”

NIU hit .286 in the match, totaling 37 kills and 42 digs while limiting Eastern Michigan to a .055 hitting percentage. The Eagles committed 28 attacking errors and recorded 36 digs.

The Huskies attack was well-rounded in the opening frame as T'ara Austin (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Central), Kelly, Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) and Lauren Zielinski (Oak Forest, Ill./Marist) all recorded three kills. While EMU totaled 11 kills in the stanza, it also resisted 11 errors to hit .000, allowing the Huskies to gain the early advantage, 25-19.

NIU played strong in the second set, playing tight with the Eagles in the early games before going on a 12-3 run to build a nine-point lead, 18-9. Eastern Michigan rallied late but were unable to overcome the deficit as the Huskies took a 2-0 lead into intermission, 25-18.

After hitting .281 in the second frame, NIU posted its strongest hitting percentage in the third set, recording a clip of .333 with 14 kills in 30 attempts. Brereton had her strongest serving performance as she totaled three aces to close the night with four.

Jenna Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) paced NIU’s attack as she had five kills in six swings, hitting .833, to boost her average to .429 in the match. The Huskies would triumph 25-19 in the final set to claim its ninth win of MAC play.

Northern Illinois University will close the weekend at Central Michigan tomorrow night, squaring off with the Chippewas at 6 p.m. Central on ESPN3.