EUGENE, Ore. -- The Northern Illinois University volleyball team took the first set from Loyola Marymount before falling in four, 27-29, 28-26, 25-17, 25-21, on Friday afternoon at the Oregon Classic. Junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) and freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) each recorded nine kills to lead the Huskies. 

Radtke also recorded 10 digs to fall one kill shy of a double-double; sophomore Samantha Boever (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert) also came close to a double-double with 20 assists and nine digs. Senior Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) recorded a team-high 23. 

The Huskies led the opening set, 23-19, but the Lions scored five of the next six points to tie the set, 24-24. Trailing 27-26, Wolowicz recorded a kill to tie the set for the eighth time, 27-27. Back-to-back errors from Loyola Marymount gave NIU (0-5) the opening set, 29-27. Freshman Maddy Katchen (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove) posted four kills in the opening set, hitting .375. 

Loyola Marymount (2-2) evened the match with a narrow victory in set number two. Trailing 26-25 following a Loyola Marymount ace, a kill from Radtke pulled the Huskies back even for the fifth time in the set. The Lions responded with a kill from Emma Johnson before an error by NIU gave Loyola Marymount the second set, 28-26. Sara Kovac posted seven kills for LMU in the set to pull the Lions even headed to the third. 

In the third set, Loyola Marymount hit .483 on its way to taking the set, 25-17. The Lions took an early 4-1 lead in the set and, after NIU cut the lead back to just two at 7-5, Loyola Marymount scored four-straight to lead 11-5. LMU led by as many as 11 points in the third set as the Lions committed just two attack errors as they took a 2-1 advantage in the match. 

NIU (0-5) led 12-5 in the fourth set until a 5-0 run pulled Loyola Marymount back within a pair of points. The Lions evened the set for the first time, 18-18, until a LMU error and a kill from Wolowicz put the Huskies back up by two. Loyola Marymount scored the next six points to take a four-point lead and went on to win the set, 25-21. 

Savannah Slattery led Loyola Marymount with 15 kills, she also recorded 11 digs. Kovac and Sierra Bartley each added 14 kills. Kristen Castellanos tallied 27 digs while Jessie Prichard added 21 digs for the Lions. 

NIU will be back on the court again Friday night at 8 p.m. CT when the Huskies face Texas Rio Grande Valley. The Huskies will close the tournament on Saturday, Sept. 2, against No. 14 Oregon at 2 p.m. CT.