Final Stats

Box Score 

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team won the 2015 Mid-American Conference regular season championship with a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green University at the Stroh Center Saturday night.

The Huskies (18-10, 14-2 MAC) knocked off Bowling Green (7-22, 3-13 MAC) in straight sets, 25-19, 25-16 and 25-15 to clinch its third regular season title in school history and first since 2011.

“First and foremost, I want to thank our group for the work they put in,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “It not only speaks to our current team, but to so many kids who played in our program. It was good for us to play a competitive match with a young up and coming Bowling Green team. It was nice for us to finish in a positive note.”

Bowling Green gave NIU a test in the first set. The Falcons battled early, staying within a few points through much of the set. After the Huskies opened up a six point 10-4 lead, the Falcons rallied with a 4-1 run to pull within three, 11-8. The Huskies responded with a 7-1 run to take an 18-9 advantage. With NIU leading, 22-13, a 5-0 Falcon response made the score, 22-18. However, NIU closed out the set with a 3-1 rally, with Mary Grace Kelly (Strongville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) putting an exclamation point on the first set victory with her second kill of the set.

“I think it was about us handling situations tonight,” Gooden said. “I think it was about us coming in and really understand what our situation was and take it one play at a time. I think we were able to do that over a period of time.”

NIU seemed to find its groove in the second set. With the score tied, 6-6, the Huskies rattled off an 8-1 run to take a 14-7 lead and never looked back. Lauren Zielinski (Oak Forest, Ill./Marist) recorded a pair of kills to spark the run. The Falcons closed the gap to five, 21-16, late in the set, but NIU was just too much for Bowling Green.

The third set was all NIU. With the score tied, 6-6, the Huskies put together a 12-2 spurt to go up 18-8, with Kelly and T’ara Austin (Joliet, Ill./Joliet Central) tallying three kills each during the run. With the 10-point lead, the Huskies went to work to put away the Falcons. Kelly picked up the kill on match point to give NIU the victory and the conference’s regular season crown.

Austin finished the match with 13 kills, while Kelly was right behind her with 12. Alexis Gonzalez (Fresno, Calif./Bullard) finished the night with a match-high 29 assists.

Saturday’s sweep of the Falcons is NIU’s seventh-straight sweep of an opponent, dating back to Oct. 24 at Ohio and the 12th of the season. Eleven of those sweeps have come in MAC play.

“We never really talk about it at all,” he said of the team’s 21-set winning streak. “It’s really about playing the play. Everyone knew what the situation was tonight. I think for a little while we looked towards the outcome instead of the process. Once we settled, especially after the first set, we did a much better job of doing the things we’re capable of doing.”

The Huskies return to action Saturday, Nov. 21 when NIU travels to Athens, Ohio for the 2015 Mid-American Conference Volleyball Tournament. The Huskies, who earned a double bye, will play their first game of the tournament on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. CT with an opponent to be determined. Be sure to check NIUHuskies.com for updated tournament information.

-NIU-