DEKALB, Ill. – Senior middle blocker Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis.) was named to the NIU Invitational All-Tournament Team on Saturday as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team wrapped up its first tournament of the season with a pair of four-set defeats to Xavier and Oklahoma at Victor E. Court.
 
Wolowicz led NIU with 3.77 kills per set and a .240 hitting percentage. In NIU's first match of the day Saturday against Xavier, Wolowicz had a career-high 24 kills and hit .296. Wolowicz and Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill.) each had a team-high nine kills for NIU against the Sooners. Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) led the Huskies with seven blocks as Amanda Rullan Vilanova (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Savannah State) had six of her own. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) paced the backrow defense with 18 digs.
 
"We learned a lot over the weekend," said head coach Ray Gooden following Saturday night's match against Oklahoma. "We have moments where we do some pretty good things. Now it's a matter of doing it consistently for a longer period of time."
 
Oklahoma (3-0) got off to a fast start Saturday night, taking a 7-2 lead on back-to-back kills by Brianna Kadiku and Alyssa Enneking. NIU got back within one at 8-7 on a Radtke kill and an ace from Amanda Krahl (Pearland, Texas/Appalachian State). The Huskies trailed 12-10 when Oklahoma went on an 8-3 run, capped by an Enneking ace, to take its largest lead of the set at 20-13. The Sooners took the set 25-19 on a kill by Sarah Sanders.
 
NIU (0-3) and Oklahoma traded points to open the second set, playing to a 5-5 tie. The Sooners took a 10-8 lead on a Paige Anderson kill, but the Huskies responded. Sparked by consecutive Kemp kills, NIU went on a 7-0 run to take a 15-10 lead. The lead grew to six at 18-12 on a Wolowicz ace, and seven at 20-13 with a Radtke kill. The Huskies evened the match with a 25-17 win in the second as a Wolowicz kill punctuated the set.
 
"I thought we did a nice job of slowing them down in the front row and picking up balls in the back row," said Gooden. "They forced us out of our style of volleyball, and I thought we recovered pretty nicely to win that second set."
 
Oklahoma bounced back in the third set to take it 25-15. The Sooners hit .355 in the frame after NIU held them to a .022 mark in the second. A Sarah Sanders kill kickstarted a 6-1 run for Oklahoma that put the Sooners ahead 18-11. Oklahoma opened the fourth set on a 6-2 run, eventually growing the lead to seven at 12-5 on a Kadiku block. NIU got as close as five late in the set when an Autumn Martin kill (Tyrone, Ga./FIU) made the score 23-18. However, the Sooners took the set 25-20 on a block by Kadiku and Sarah Maras and the match 3-1.
 
The Huskies opened the day against the Xavier Musketeers. Xavier (1-1) opened the match on a 5-2 run but NIU would stay within reach. Kills by Wolowicz and Kemp tied the set at 13-13. The two teams traded points up to 16-16 when the Musketeers got a kill from Norah Painter and an NIU error to take an 18-16 lead. The Huskies then charged past Xavier, taking seven of the next eight points as back-to-back Wolowicz kills put NIU up 23-19. A block by Kemp and Wallace gave the Huskies the first set 25-20.
 
NIU took an 8-4 lead to start the second set behind kills from Radtke, Wolowicz, Wallace, and Kemp. The Huskies led 13-11 when Xavier went on a 9-2 run, capped by a Meredith Klare kill, to take a 20-15 lead. NIU got within two points twice, but kills by Audrey Adams and Jayda Carlton gave Xavier the second set 25-22 and tied the match at 1-1. The Huskies once again got off to a strong start in the third set, as three straight kills by Radtke, Wolowicz, and Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) put NIU ahead 12-7. Xavier chipped away at the Huskies' advantage, eventually tying the set at 18-18. With the set tied at 19-19, the Musketeers took six of the last seven points as kills by Adams and Laura Grossman clinched the set for Xavier 25-20 and a 2-1 lead.
 
The Huskies took the first four points of the fourth set on their way to a 7-3 lead. Xavier battled back to tie the set 8-8 on a Grossman kill. Xavier broke a 14-14 tie with four straight points, capped by a Carlton kill, to take an 18-14 lead. The Musketeers grew their lead to seven at 23-16 on a Moriah Hopkins kill, and took the set 25-18 and the match 3-1 on a Grossman kill.
 
Xavier hit .344 against the Huskies and held NIU to a .220 hitting percentage. Wolowicz led all players with a career-high 24 kills, hitting .296. Radtke had a double-double with 12 kills and 11 digs. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) also had a double-double, dishing out 28 assists to go with 11 digs.  
 
The Huskies continue their season-opening homestand on Tuesday, Aug. 28 when Milwaukee comes to Victor E. Court for a 6 p.m. match.
 
--NIU--
 
NIU Invitational All-Tournament Team
Alyssa Enneking – Oklahoma (MVP)
Kylee McLaughlin, Oklahoma
Sarah Maras, Oklahoma
Laura Grossman, Xavier
Audrey Adams, Xavier
Claire Anderson, DePaul
Isabell De La Rosa, DePaul
Meg Wolowicz, NIU