KENT, Ohio – The NIU volleyball team (18-4, 10-0 MAC) walked away with its third consecutive five-set victory on Saturday night, winning the final four points of the final frame at Kent State (12-11, 5-5 MAC) to clinch the match, 19-25, 25-22, 25-10, 22-25, 15-11. The Huskies 10-0 start in conference play is their best start to the conference season since 1993 and their best ever as a member of the Mid-American Conference.

Mary Grace Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) led the Huskies with 21 kills while Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) led the defense with 33 digs as NIU out-dug the Golden Flashes, 84-73. The Huskies also out-blocked KSU in the match, 13-7, as Kelly and Jenna Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) recorded six each.

Head Coach Ray Gooden was pleased with the team's ability to rise to the occasion.

"There were a lot of ebbs and flows in the match tonight and we did the things we had to win the match, winning the right points. Credit to Kent State for pushing us tonight, they've been a challenging matchup for us over the last couple of years," he said.

"We knew they were great defensively and that we had to handle their pace of play. Our block improved as the match went on and it all started in the third set and once that happened, it really helped us score in the fifth."

The Golden Flashes won the opening stanza, 25-19, but the Huskies rallied back to take the next two sets to lead the match, 2-1. Northern Illinois University dominated the third set, 25-10, holding Kent State to a .121 hitting percentage while tallying a .400 clip.

During the fourth set, the Huskies led 12-10 until Kent State reclaimed the lead, 15-13. KSU appeared to run away with the frame as it built a six-point lead, 21-15, but a pair of kills and errors lifted the Huskies within two points again, 22-20. However, NIU would fall in the frame, 25-22.

The Huskies led at the turn of the fifth set, 8-7, in a nip and tuck stanza between the two sides, who traded blows and registered fantastic digs to extend the rallies. Kent State was the first to reach 10 but the Huskies quickly tied it up.

The situation repeated at 11, but service by Sam Boever (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) ignited the Huskies as they won the final four points to clinch the match, 15-11.

Northern Illinois University totaled nine kills in the fifth stanza while Kent State registered eight with five errors for a .097 hitting percentage.

NIU will return to action next weekend with road matches at Western Michigan and MAC co-leader Miami (Ohio) on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.