OXFORD, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team's three-match winning streak came to an end Sunday afternoon, as the Miami Redhawks gave the Huskies their first Mid-American Conference loss 3-0 (25-18, 28-26, 25-18) at Millett Hall.
 
Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc) led NIU with 11 kills and three blocks on the day. Jori Radtke narrowly missed her fourth straight double-double, tallying 10 kills and nine digs. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) had 20 assists and nine digs. Libero Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led the match with 29 digs and added six assists.
 
"We had a bunch of long rallies today, especially in the first two sets," said head coach Ray Gooden. "We won a couple, but they won a majority of them. Miami did a real nice job of winning those tough points."
 
Miami (11-5, 3-1 MAC) jumped out to a 5-1 lead in the opening set, getting a block from Margaret Payne and Stela Kukoc. NIU got used a 5-1 run of their own to get within one as a Radtke kill made the score 7-6. Miami got back out in front by three at 12-9, but three straight Redhawks errors tied the set 12-12. With the set tied at 16-16, Miami got kills from Payne and Corinne Jemison to take an 18-16 lead. The lead grew to five as three straight Huskies errors made the score 22-17 and led to an NIU timeout. Wolowicz got a kill out of the timeout to make the score 22-18, but the Redhawks won the last three points as a Lindsay Dauch ace gave Miami the first set 25-18.
 
NIU (5-14, 3-1 MAC) took a 3-1 lead to start the second set on a solo block and a kill by Wolowicz. Miami responded with a 3-1 run of its own as a Payne kill tied the set 4-4. The two sides then traded points up to 10-10 when a Balensiefer kill sparked a three-point Huskies run that put NIU ahead 12-10. The lead ballooned to five at 17-12 following a Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) kill and a block by Milbrath and Chrystal McAlpin (Calumet Park, Ill./Shepard). Miami closed the gap to two, 18-16, on kills by Sophie Riemersma and Lindsay Dauch. NIU responded by taking the next three points, with two Radtke kills making the score 21-16 and forcing Miami to call a timeout.
 
The Redhawks won the next three points as a Kukoc ace put the score at 21-19. NIU led 23-21 when Gaby Harper put down a kill and an ace to tie the set 23-23. The Huskies earned set point at 24-23 on a block by McAlpin and Wolowicz, but a Payne kill tied the set 24-24. NIU also had set point at 25-24 and 26-25 but Miami fought off both of those to stay in the set. Miami then earned a set point opportunity on a Kukoc kill that put the Redhawks ahead 27-26. Jemison then put down a kill to win the set for Miami 28-26 and put the Redhawks ahead 2-0 in the match.
 
"We just didn't finish the set," Gooden said about the middle frame Sunday. "We needed to string a couple points along and couldn't. It was unfortunate because we did a good job of putting ourselves in a good spot with good defense and winning the right points. We just came up short there."
 
Miami got out to a 6-2 lead to start the third after kills by Jemison and Kukoc. The advantage grew to six at 9-3 on a kill by Harper. The Redhawks led by nine, 15-6, after two blocks by Payne and Haley Stewart and a kill by Payne. NIU closed the gap to 15-8 on a Wolowicz kill and Karlen ace, and got within six at 17-11 on a Wolowicz ace. The Huskies kept chipping away at the Miami lead as a Radtke kill got NIU within five, 18-13, and forced a Miami timeout. NIU got as close as four before the Redhawks pulled away late to win the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
 
NIU was held to a .104 hitting percentage Sunday while Miami hit .224. Payne led the match with 13 kills as Jemison added 12.

"This was one of the first matches this year where we were not the underdog," Gooden said. "This is something to learn from, to see how people are going to approach us. We have some things we can do that are positive. We just have to understand that people are going to give us their best on a regular basis."

The Huskies continue their current road swing at Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 5. First serve is at 6 p.m.

--NIU--