HONOLULU, Hawai'i – The NIU women's volleyball team (5-4) closed its Hawai'i trip Saturday afternoon with rendezvous against No. 6 Washington (7-0). Northern Illinois University battled in the third set but the Pac-12, national powerhouse proved to be too much as the Huskies fell to the No. 6 Huskies in straight sets, 25-16, 25-14, 25-21.
Senior
Lauren Zielinski (Oak Forest, Ill./Marist) led NIU in kills and attacking percentage with eight and .389. The Huskies finished the third set with their best hitting clip of the contest with a percentage of .206.
In the opening set, NIU limited the No. 6 Huskies to a hitting percentage of .250, over 30 points lower than their season average, as it forced UW to commit six attacking errors in the set. Washington entered the weekend with the 34th-best attacking percentage in the country. Despite slowing down the offense, Northern Illinois University dropped the opening set, 25-16.
Washington controlled the second set as it improved its hitting percentage to .303 in the stanza and totaled 15 kills. UW would clinch the second frame, 25-14. Zielinski entered the intermission with five kills as she notched three in the second set.
Northern Illinois University battled neck and neck with their Husky counterparts in the third set as no more than five points ever separated the two squads. NIU closed the gap to one point in the final games of the set, 22-21. A three-point run by Washington to close the match as the Huskies dropped the match, 25-21.
Head Coach
Ray Gooden reflected on the final day of action and the tournament as a whole.
"With the challenges we faced this weekend, once we got settled in I thought we did some real nice things and I thought we took (Utah Valley) to the brink. In that short set, we gave up a run or two which was the difference but I thought that it was nice for us to come back," said Gooden.
"We learned how to play through an entire play and a series of plays this weekend, whether it was a game, a set or an entire match," he added. "We talk about playing a long and we hit a lot of peaks and valleys so we're looking for more stability and as we do that we'll continue to improve."
NIU will return to action next weekend in Washington, D.C. in the GW Invitational, taking on host George Washington, James Madison and Tennessee.
