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Ray Gooden
0
Northern Illinois NIU 5-2
3
Winner Hawaii UH 5-3
Northern Illinois NIU
5-2
0
Final
3
Hawaii UH
5-3
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Northern Illinois NIU 24 15 15 (0)
Hawaii UH 26 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Women's Volleyball |

Huskies Open Strong versus Nationally Ranked Hawai’i

NIU forced UH to a deuce set in the opening frame

HONOLULU, Hawai'i – In its opening match of the Outrigger Resorts Volleyball Challenge, the NIU (5-2) played a nip and tuck match versus the host No. 14 Hawai'i (5-3). Forcing a deuce set in the first and leading in the second, the Huskies were unable to grab a frame as it fell to the Rainbow Wahine in straight-sets, 26-24, 25-15, 25-15.

"We played volleyball in likely in the mecca of volleyball right now. This was a great crowd and great energy and I thought at times we were doing some great things. There are a lot of things we can learn from tonight," said Head Coach Ray Gooden.

Senior Mary Grace Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) led NIU with eight kills while hitting .316 on the night. Jenna Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) paced the Huskies with a clip of .364, adding five kills and two blocks. Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) blocked four attempts. Hawai'i's Nikki Taylor paced all attackers with 18 kills.

In front of announced crowd of 6,000 people - one of the largest crowds the program has ever played in front of – the Huskies found themselves in an early hole against the Rainbow Wahine. Despite the noise and energy from the green and black crowd, the Huskies were unfazed by the deficit.

Trailing 20-15, NIU rallied four-straight points to cut the gap to one, 20-19, as a block assist by Bri Horwath (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) and Wolowicz forced a UH timeout. The Huskies registered their first tie in the match at 21 and forced a deuce set as Hawai'i served for set point as Wolowicz blocked the attempt. However, the Rainbow Wahine would clinch the set, 26-24.

"We were making them play and we were doing a good job of making them earn points and I thought we had a pretty good stretch where we were earning points so we were trying to take that into the second and third sets," Gooden added.

Emotionally charged and primed with confidence after the set, the Huskies would build a 9-5 lead in the second stanza and send a hush over the crowd that drew the focus of UH squad. The Rainbow Wahine would take the frame, 25-15, as they won 10 of the final 13 points in the match.

Hawai'i showed its power in the third set as it took a 10-4 lead, however, after a series of errors by UH, NIU closed the gap to four just before the break, 14-10. The Rainbow Wahine would finish with 11 kills, three aces and five blocks in the frame as their all-around play clinched the set and the match, 25-15.

NIU will close the tournament with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon, starting against Utah Valley at 5 p.m. Central. The Huskies will close the tournament versus No. 6 Washington at 10 p.m. Central.
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