DEKALB, Ill. -- The Northern Illinois University volleyball team rallied late in the third set to force a fourth but was unable to keep that momentum going as it fell to Ohio, 25-18, 25-23, 23-25, 25-20, on Friday night at Victor E. Court. Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) tallied 13 kills and junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) added 11 and hit .391, to go along with three blocks. 

"I thought Ohio was pretty physical, they did a good job terminating plays," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "I thought we had moments where we put ourselves in spots to do some positive things but we just needed to take care of our side a little bit better."

Freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) added seven kills while senior Chandler Kinley (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) had 32 assists. 

The opening set was tied, 8-8, until a 4-0 burst gave Ohio a 12-8 advantage. The Bobcats led 16-12 before another two-point swing pushed the Ohio lead to a half-dozen. NIU closed the gap to as little as three, 20-17, but the Bobcats closed the set on a 5-1 run to take the first set. 

Ohio (11-12, 5-4 MAC) hit .310 in the first set and was led by three kills each from Stephanie Olman and Sara Januszewski. Martin had three kills to pace the NIU attack in the opening set. 

The Bobcats claimed a come-from-behind win in the second set to take a 2-0 lead into the intermission. NIU jumped out to a 14-9 lead in the set but a 5-1 spurt by the Bobcats cut the Huskie lead to just one, and Ohio evened the set, 16-16, just three points later. The set remained close the rest of the way and was tied, 23-23, when a kill from Lizzie Stephens and a Huskie error gave the set to Ohio. 

The Bobcats tallied 17 kills in the second set, including six from Tia Jimerson and five from Stephens. Martin had four kills in the set to lead NIU.

NIU (5-19, 4-5 MAC) trailed in the third set, 23-20 before scoring the final five points of the set to force a fourth. Martin started the comeback with a kill, which was followed by an attack error from Ohio. After a Bobcat timeout, Martin and Wolowicz each added a kill and the pair combined on a block to finish the set, 25-23. 

Wolowicz tallied a team-high four kills in the set and the Huskies held Ohio to just a .028 hitting percentage as the Bobcats recorded 10 kills and nine attack errors. 

The fourth set was tied, 17-17, until a three-point run by Ohio gave the Bobcats a 20-17 edge. A service error by Ohio cut the lead back to a pair but Stephens and Olman registered back-to-back kills to give the Bobcats a four-point lead. Martin cut the advantage back to three with a kill but Ohio scored three of the final four points to take the set, 25-20, and win the match.

Ohio hit .366 in the final set with 20 kills and just five errors; Stephens had seven kills in the set on her way to a match-high 20. Jimerson added 12 kills and Olman had 11 kills in the match for the Bobcats. Macy Reihing tallied a match-high 22 digs for Ohio. The Bobcats tallied 11 service aces in the match and the two teams combined for 27 service errors. 

NIU will be back home again on Saturday night, Oct. 21, when the Huskies welcome Kent State to Victor E. Court. First serve against the Golden Flashes is scheduled for 7 p.m.