DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University wrestling team suffered a 40-6 setback to No. 8 Missouri at the Duke Ellington Ballroom Friday night.

"I'm not impressed with the way we competed," said NIU head coach Ryan Ludwig. "I thought Missouri came out and had a little more pluck to them. They came out and set the tone in most cases. We just have to pick ourselves back up. Tomorrow's a new day and we'll focus on getting better tomorrow.

"We don't have much time to feel sorry for ourselves, we have Ohio coming in [Sunday]. Our guys know we're better than that. They're not very happy right now. I expect them to be very motivated moving forward."

Alijah Jeffery (Marion, Iowa/Linn Mar) provided the lone highlight for the Huskies (5-7, 1-3) on the night. With NIU trailing, 3-0 after a loss in the first match of the night, the Huskie senior posted a second period pin fall win over Cameron Valdiviez.

Unfortunately for NIU it was all Tigers from there. Three pin fall victories, two maj. dec. wins and a tech fall were too much to overcome. Mason Kaufman put up a fight at 157, battling Jarrett Jacques to a 3-1 setback.

The Huskies return to action Sunday, Jan. 27 when NIU plays host to Ohio in conjunction with the NIU gymnastics team for the "Beauty and the Beast" event. The match will take place in the main arena of the Convocation Center and starts at 1 p.m..

No. 8 Missouri 40, NIU 6

125: Dack Punke (MIZZOU) dec. Bryce West (NIU), 6-1

133: Alijah Jeffery (NIU) fall Cameron Valdiviez (MIZZOU), 4:51

141: Jaydin Eierman (MIZZOU) fall Drew West (NIU), 5:53

149: Brock Mauller (MIZZOU) tech fall McCoy Kent (NIU), 18-0 2:23

157: Jarrett Jacques (MIZZOU) dec. Mason Kauffman (NIU), 3-1

165: Connor Flynn (MIZZOU) maj. dec. Kenny Moore (NIU), 10-1

174: Luke Fortuna (MIZZOU) dec. Caden McWhirter (NIU), 8-2

184: Daniel Lewis (MIZZOU) maj. dec. Brit Wilson (NIU), 12-3

197: Wyatt Koelling (MIZZOU) fall Will Feldkamp (NIU), 1:33

285: Zach Elam (MIZZOU) fall Caleb Gossett (NIU), 0:39