Final Stats

DeKALB - The NIU volleyball team (1-0) posted a complete performance in its season opener Friday night versus South Dakota State and claimed its eighth-straight season opener, 3-0 (25-9, 25-13, 25-16). The contest was the first ever meeting between the Huskies and Jackrabbits.

NIU hit .338 in the match and accrued 12 service aces, eight of which came from senior Alexis Gonzalez (Fresno, Calif./Bullard), who tied the program’s single-match record. She also dished 24 assists and recorded four digs.

“It was great for our team to get out there and compete. They’ve been itching to play someone else after practicing against each other for the last two weeks,” said Head Coach Ray Gooden. “We had good energy and support from our fans tonight and that was great to see.

The Huskies opened strong in the first set, hitting an impressive .556 with 11 kills. NIU was solid in its service, accumulating seven aces. Defensively the team did well as it posted two blocks including one solo by freshman Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln). The complete team performance led the Huskies to 25-9 victory in the first set.

The Jackrabbits improved in the second set as they kept the gap to within five points through most of the set. With the score 16-11, NIU ended the set on a 9-2 run to take a two set lead in the match, following the teams, 25-13, set victory.

After posting four service aces in the first set, Gonzalez added two more in the second frame to bring her total to six in the match. The total surpassed her career-high of four last recorded at Bowling Green on Nov. 8 2014. NIU won the second set 25-13.

After a slow start in the third, in which SDSU took a 9-5 lead, the Huskies rallied back to end the third set on a 20-7 run to clinch the victory for the Huskies, 25-16. Gonzalez continued her strong serving with two more aces in the third to tie the school record with eight total aces.

She became just the fourth person to total eight aces in a match and was the first NIU player since Anita Kesteris on Oct. 7, 1988 versus Bowling Green to accomplish the feat.

When asked about the team’s performance, Gooden added “historically, we’ve had a really good first set and it was good to see that continue. We battled and played strong in the second set and though we started slow in the third set, it was nice to put together a good run at the end to put the match away.”

Junior Mary Grace Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) led the Huskies in kills with nine, followed by Jenna Radtke’s (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) seven. The newcomer Wolowicz finished with six kills and one solo block.

NIU will return to action tomorrow night versus Pacific in the Saturday night finale of the NIU Invitational. First serve is set for 7 p.m., Central.