IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team fell in its opening match of the Iowa Invitational, 25-15, 25-15, 25-11, to the host Iowa Hawkeyes. Senior Taylor Krage (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) tied a season-high with seven kills in the match, freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson also had seven kills.

"From being tied at 14 in the first set, we seemed to fall a step behind in every phase of the game," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "That is something we have to learn, how important it is to bring our best all the time. From Tuesday (at Northern Iowa) when we thought we were doing some good things, now we have to continue to play at that level. I don't know if we fully came in with that mindset against a very good Iowa team."

The Huskies and Hawkeyes were deadlocked in the opening set, 14-14, until Iowa used an 11-1 run to close the set. Kelsey O'Neill recorded four kills to lead the Hawkeyes in the set; freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) and Radtke each had three for NIU. Senior Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) had six first set digs for the Huskies, she finished the match with 10 overall. 

Kills from sophomore Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) and junior Autumn Martin (Tyrone, Ga./Sandy Creek) trimmed the Iowa lead to three in the second set, 12-9, but the Hawkeyes answered with the next six points to take an 18-9 lead in the set. A kill from Krage and an ace from Radtke ended the Iowa run but the Huskies would get no closer, dropping the set, 25-15. 

Iowa (7-1) recorded 15 kills to just one error in set number two, hitting .467; Krage had four kills to pace the Huskie attack. 

NIU (0-9) led 4-3 in the third set before Iowa scored six-straight points to take a 9-4 advantage. The Huskies ended the run with a kill from Krage but the Hawkeyes responded with the next eight to lead 17-5 as Iowa went on to take the final set, 25-11. 

The Hawkeyes hit .440 in the final set while also recording five blocks. 

O'Neill and Claire Sheehan each had seven kills to lead the Hawkeyes in the match; Gabrielle Orr tallied 35 assists while Annika Olsen recorded 11 digs. 

NIU will return to action at Carver-Hawkeye Arena on Saturday, Sept. 9 for a pair of matches. The Huskies will meet 22nd-ranked Iowa State at 1 p.m., before a rematch with the host Hawkeyes at 7 p.m.