DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team fell in five sets to Eastern Michigan, 25-20, 24-26, 25-20, 25-23, 15-8, on Friday night in its Mid-American Conference home opener. Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) had a match-high 18 kills while junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) added 14 kills and seven blocks.

Freshman Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) had a match-high 21 digs, senior Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) added 14 digs. 

"It really came down to the fifth set," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "It was evenly matched, back-and-forth, in all the sets. The two sets we won, we won by two points, we had a slow start in that fifth set and in a short game it is hard to recover. We came back, but we weren't able to get ourselves into that particular set to come through with a victory."

In the opening set, Eastern Michigan (10-9, 2-1 MAC) led 22-13 before the Huskies scored five-straight to cut the Eagle lead to just four. Karlen had a pair of service aces during the run. A Huskie error ended the run however and EMU went on to take the set, 25-20. 

Eastern Michigan hit .500 in the opening set, with five kills coming from Jordan Smith. Kaylee Martin led NIU with six kills. 

NIU (1-17, 0-3 MAC) had a 20-15 advantage in the second set until Eastern Michigan used a 6-2 burst to get within one, 22-21. The Eagles would pull the set even, 24-24, but an Eastern Michigan error, followed by a kill from junior Autumn Martin (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) gave the set to the Huskies. 

Wolowicz paced NIU with six kills in the second set; Karlen added eight digs. Alysse LaFace had seven digs for the Eagles, who also committed nine attack errors in the set. 

After halftime, Eastern Michigan took an early 4-0 lead in the third set, but NIU responded to lead by three, 11-8. The team teams began trading points and were all even, 20-20, when the Eagles closed the set with a 5-0 run to take the two sets to one lead. 

Kaylee Martin had four kills on four swings in the third set, Smith and Cassie Haut each tallied three kills for Eastern Michigan. 

In the fourth set, Eastern Michigan once again grabbed a quick 4-0 lead, but NIU answered to pull even, 12-12. The Huskies led 23-20 until an Eagle kill and a Huskie error brought EMU back within one. Out of a timeout, the teams traded service errors and Kaylee Martin closed the set with a kill to force a fifth. 

Samantha Falco had five kills in the fourth set to lead Eastern Michigan; senior Taylor Krage (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) had three for the Huskies. 

For the third consecutive set, Eastern Michigan took a quick lead in the fifth, scoring the opening three points. NIU trimmed the lead to just a pair on multiple occasions, including 8-6, but the Eagles scored the next three points to take an 11-6 lead and went on to win the set, 15-8. 

EMU hit .455 in the final set, led by four kills from Franki Strefling. 

Five played recorded double-figure kills from the Eagles, led by Strefling's 14. Haut (13), Smith (12), Falco (11) and Kelly Ferguson (11) also reached double figures for EMU. As a team, Eastern Michigan recorded 17 blocks. 

NIU will be back in action on Saturday night, Sept. 30, when the Huskies host Central Michigan. First serve against the Chippewas is scheduled for 7 p.m.