TOLEDO, Ohio -- Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) had 24 kills while junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) and freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) each added 14 as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team topped Toledo, 19-25, 25-22, 25-23, 25-17, on Friday night at Savage Arena. 

Martin added 10 digs for her third double-double of the season as she was one of four Huskies to reach double-figure digs along with senior Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) who had a team-high 22, freshman Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) who had 16 and senior Taylor Krage (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) who chipped in 12. 

"We just settled down," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "I think for the first time this year, maybe since our first match against High Point, everybody was so pumped, just so juiced. Maybe it was the excitement of winning last week or whatever it was, we were just so aggressive that we played ourselves out of that first set. 

"The cool thing is the group changed a little bit of their energy and everybody settled down and started playing for each other a little bit better and it gave us a good result.

The opening set was tied, 13-13, when Toledo scored eight of the next 10 points to take a 21-15 lead. NIU cut the Toledo lead back to five but the Rockets finished out the opening set, 25-19. 

Toledo (7-10, 2-3 MAC) collected 13 kills in the opening set, led by five from Annie Beasley, while hitting .303. Radtke led the Huskies with five kills in the first set but NIU also had nine attack errors. 

NIU (3-17, 2-3 MAC) led the second set 13-7, but Toledo scored the next four to trim the Huskie advantage to just a pair. The Huskies rebuilt a five-point advantage, 17-12, but the Rockets once again had an answer as the pulled even at 19. Wolowicz and Martin alternated the next four kills as the NIU lead grew back to four. For a third time in the set Toledo cut into a significant NIU advantage as they got within one, 23-22, but Martin finished the set with a kill and an ace to even the match at halftime. 

Martin tallied seven kills in the second set to lead the Huskies who finished the set with 20 kills and a .333 hitting percentage. Karlen and Krage each had six digs for NIU as the match went into halftime tied. 

After the break, the Huskies held a 20-19 lead in the third set before back-to-back kills by Radtke gave NIU a three-point cushion. Toledo scored the next four to regain the lead, 23-22, but NIU finished the set with a kill from Martin, a Toledo error and an ace from Karlen to take the third set, 25-23. 

Martin and Wolowicz each had five kills in the third set for the Huskies; Martin and Brereton added five digs as NIU took a 2-1 lead. 

The fourth set was tied, 4-4, but NIU scored six of the next eight to take a 10-6 advantage. The Huskies still led by four, 19-15, when a kill by sophomore Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa./John F. Kennedy), followed by back-to-back kills from Martin gave NIU a seven-point lead. The Huskies and Rockets traded the next five points as Wolowicz punctuated the match with a block to give NIU the victory. 

Milbrath finished with five kills and a .364 hitting percentage; Wolwicz hit .364 for the match and Martin hit .309. 

NIU hit .333 as a team in the final set with 17 kills, including nine from Martin. Senior Chandler Kinley (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) had 14 assists in the final set, and 45 in the match. Brereton and Karlen each recorded seven digs in the final set. 

Beasley led Toledo with 12 kills in the match, Saige Thomas added 11; Maurissa Leonard recorded a match-high 27 digs for the Rockets. 

NIU will conclude the weekend when it travels to Ball State on Saturday, Oct. 7. First serve against the Cardinals is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT.