DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team used 10 blocks in the final two sets to overcome a 2-1 deficit and beat the Central Michigan Chippewas 3-2 (25-18, 23-25, 23-25, 25-20, 15-12) Friday night at Victor E. Court.
 
"Tonight was a big win for us," said head coach Ray Gooden. "Central Michigan is physical and play so hard. For us to battle through that was very big for our team. We fought threw the whole way and winning the big points when we needed them."
 
The Huskies had a season-high 21 blocks in the match. Freshman Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) led the way with a match and career-high nine blocks. Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) and Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) each had seven. Radtke set a career-high in blocks while also recording a double-double with 12 kills and 12 digs.
 
"Ray put me in, so I had to do what I do best when given the chance," said Kemp, who had three block in each of the final three sets.
 
Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) led the NIU offense with 21 kills, hitting .315 for the match. Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) tied a career-high with 12 kills and added a career-high six blocks.
 
"It wasn't just my 21 kills tonight that got it done," Wolowicz said. "It's a team effort. It's the setting and passing and blocking. It was awesome and exciting and a team effort to be sure."
 
NIU (11-19, 9-6 MAC) got off to a fast start, taking an 8-3 lead in the opening set on four Wolowicz kills. Central Michigan rallied to get within four at 12-8, but the Huskies took the next five points. Kills by Wolowicz and Radtke, as well as a block, gave NIU a 17-8 lead. After the Chippewas cut the lead to six at 20-14, a Milbrath kill and a block by Wallace and Amanda Rullan Vilanova (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Savannah State) put NIU back up by eight 22-14. Central Michigan got as close as five, but a Wolowicz kill and a Chippewas error gave NIU the first set 25-18.
 
After trading points to start the second set, Central Michigan (7-20, 4-11 MAC) five straight points on two Kalina Smith kills, a kill by Savannah Thompson, and a Megan Kern ace to take a 13-9 lead. NIU roared back to tie the set at 16 on a Wolowicz ace and two Milbrath kills. With the set tied at 18, Central Michigan won four of the next five points to take a 22-19 lead. The Chippewas earned set point at 24-20 on a Thompson kill, but NIU hung around and won the next three points. Back-to-back blocks got the Huskies within one at 24-23, but a Thompson kill got Central Michigan the set 25-23.
 
The third set played out almost exactly like the second. The Chippewas led 7-6 when a Thompson kill started a 9-2 Central Michigan run that put them ahead 16-8. NIU responded with a 4-0 run of its own with a Wolowicz kill making the score 16-12. A block by Radtke and Kemp capped off a 5-0 run that tied the set at 17. The two sides traded points up to 23-23, when kills by Thompson and Lyza Myers gave Central Michigan the set 25-23.
 
NIU got out to a 4-2 lead to start the fourth as Wolowicz and Kemp each had a kill and combined on a block. The two teams then traded four-point runs, with a Chrystal McAlpin (Calumet Park, Ill./Shepard) kill putting the Huskies ahead 8-6. Central Michigan then took the next five points as kills by Thompson, Myers, and Maddie Whitfield put the Chippewas ahead 11-8. The Chippewas led 17-12 when NIU went on a 4-0 run, capped by a pair of blocks by Milbrath and Kemp, to get within one at 17-16. Trailing 19-17, NIU closed the set on an 8-1 run to win it 25-20 and force a fifth set. Radtke had three kills and two blocks in the run as the Huskies ran off six straight points on the serve of Amanda Krahl (Pearland, Texas/Appalachian State) to earn set point at 24-19.
 
The Huskies took a 4-2 lead in the fifth set on kills by Wallace, Kemp and Wolowicz as well as a block by Milbrath and Kemp. NIU extended its lead to three at 7-4 when a block by Wallace and Radtke prompted a Central Michigan timeout. The Chippewas closed to within two three different times, as a Whitfield kill made the score 12-10 NIU. That would be as close as Central Michigan would get. Radtke put the exclamation point on the comeback, as her 12^th kill of the night gave NIU the fifth set 15-12 and a 3-2 win.
 
"To end up in a fifth set on the very last weekend of MAC play isn't surprising to us, because they know how to scout us and we know how to scout them," said Wolowicz following Friday's win. "For us to come out as a team and win in five tonight is a great feeling."
 
NIU hit .212 in the match and held Central Michigan to a .155 mark. The Huskies' setting duo of Krahl and Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) combined for 51 of NIU's 54 assists. Balensiefer had 40 as Krahl added a double-double of 11 assists and 10 digs.
 
"We want to have positive vibes moving into the tournament next week, so it was good for us to start that with a win tonight," said Gooden.
 
The Huskies close the regular season on Saturday night against Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. at Victor E. Court. Prior to the match, NIU will honor its three seniors – Meg Wolowicz, Chrystal McAlpin, and Autumn Martin (Tyrone, Ga./FIU) – prior to Saturday's match for Senior Night.
 
--NIU--