FARGO – Led by
Jenna Radtke's (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) 16-kill effort, the NIU volleyball team won its second match of the day against South Dakota State (1-5) in straight sets, 3-0. Radtke totaled 18 points in the match, adding a service ace and a block. The Huskies finished the day 2-0 to improve to 4-1.
"For our first road trip, there are a lot of positives. We did a real nice job of handling some things and South Dakota State made it tough for us in the second set but we were able to pull it out and made a nice swing to take it to 24 and pull it off in the end," said Head Coach
Ray Gooden.
Radtke worked efficiently as she hit .448 in the contest.
Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) supplemented the attack with eight kills and two block assists. Defensively,
Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) recorded 13 digs.
The senior was a force in the first set as she scored eight points for the Huskies, recording seven kills and one block while hitting .500. NIU totaled 16 kills in the stanza and out-dug the Jacks, 14-12, to take a 1-0 lead in the match, 25-17.
In a near timeout-free second set, the Huskies and South Dakota State traded blows until the Jackrabbits called for its first time with NIU leading, 22-18. SDSU rallied back with a 6-1 run to force a deuce set and push NIU on its heels, however, the Huskies were undaunted by SDSU's rally as they won the set, 26-24.
Gooden was extremely pleased with the way the team handled itself late with momentum in South Dakota State's corner.
"Sometimes you play the score and sometimes you don't play the score and so for us to go out there and continue to keep playing and not get too frustrated, I thought that was all really positive," Gooden added.
NIU attacked with precision in the third set, hitting .346 as a team with 12 kills in 26 total attempts. Defensively, the Huskies held SDSU to an attack percentage of .034 in the third set and .059 overall in the match.
Northern Illinois University will close the NDSU Classic tomorrow afternoon against tournament host North Dakota State. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m., Central. Fans can follow the match via live stats or web stream, subscription required.
