KALAMAZOO, MI – The Northern Illinois University women's volleyball team won its second five-set match of the season on Thursday night, defeating the Western Michigan Broncos 3-2 (25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25, 15-8) at University Arena.
"We were going to have to scrap against these guys a whole bunch," said head coach
Ray Gooden following NIU's 13
th win in its last 14 matchups with Western Michigan. "Western just tries to beat you with the many hitters they have. For us to win some of those tight points tonight, I thought it was just a testament to our group and how hard they worked this week in practice and that transferred over into the match."
Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) led the Huskies offense with 14 kills.
Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) tied a career-high with 13 kills, hitting .290 for the match. Setter
Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) had her second straight double-double with 35 assists and 15 digs.
After trading points to start the first set, NIU (6-13, 3-2 MAC) went on a 4-0 run bookended by a pair of Wallace kills to take an 8-5 lead. Western Michigan came back to tie the set at 11 on kills by Charley Andrews, Maggie King, and Janell Williams. NIU took a three-point lead at 17-14 following a Wallace kill and a
Samantha Juarez (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) ace. After a Rose Duffy kill got the Broncos within two, the Huskies closed the set with an 8-2 run to win it 25-17.
Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) and Milbrath combined for three kills in that stretch as NIU hit .308 in the opening set and held the Broncos to a .147 mark.
Western Michigan (11-6, 2-3 MAC) took control of the second set early, taking a 6-3 lead highlighted by two kills and an ace from King. NIU battled back to get within one point at 8-7 on a Wallace ace and a kill from Bell. The Huskies were within two at 12-10 when a Willow Martin kill sparked a 6-3 Broncos run that put the hosts ahead 18-13 and prompted an NIU timeout. Western Michigan led by as much as six points before a 5-0 NIU run, highlighted by three straight Bell kills, put the Huskies within two at 23-21. That was as close as NIU would get, as a Rachel Bontrager kill gave Western Michigan the set 25-22 and tied the match at one set all.
NIU quickly rebounded to start the third set. Behind three kills from Tilly and Wallace, NIU took a 5-2 lead. The Huskies took advantage of Broncos errors, as well as two Milbrath kills and a
Kennedy Shelley (Burlington, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) ace, to grow the advantage to five at 13-8. The Broncos chipped away at the NIU lead, getting within two at 16-14 on kills by Andrews and King. The Huskies responded with kills from Milbrath and
Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) to go back up by four, 18-14. Western Michigan got as close as two points but NIU won six of the final nine points to win the set 25-20 and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Broncos responded very quickly to start the fourth set. After NIU took a 2-1 lead, Western Michigan won 13 of the next 14 points including nine straight to take a 14-3 lead. Bontrager had four kills and a block in that stretch as King added three kills. The Huskies made a late rally in the set after Western Michigan earned set point at 24-13. NIU went on a 7-0 run highlighted by a Balensiefer ace and a Kemp kill to get within four, 24-20. The Broncos won the set 25-20 on a King kill to force a deciding fifth set.
NIU got out to a 4-0 lead in the final set behind three kills from Tilly and Kemp. After a Bontrager kill put the Broncos on the board, a Kemp kill started another 4-0 run that put the Huskies ahead 8-1. The lead grew to nine at 12-3 following two kills from Tilly and a block and a kill from Wallace. Western Michigan came back to score the next five points as a block by Bontrager and Janell Williams made the score 12-8. NIU made the final run of the match. The Huskies got kills from Balensiefer and Bell to earn match point at 14-8, then forced a Broncos error to win the set 15-8 and the match 3-2.
"We just kept battling," Gooden said. "We actually put some pressure on Western towards the end of the fourth. The group took that and had a good start to the fifth. It was awesome and really cool to watch just how we were able to manage through it and come away with the win."
The Huskies hit .304 in the fifth set, holding Western Michigan to a -.050. NIU hit .206 for the match as the Broncos hit .195. Four Huskies had double-digit digs as NIU held an 80-72 advantage in digs.
Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led NIU with 25, as
Amanda Krahl (Pearland, Texas/Appalachian State) added 13 and Juarez had 11. Bontrager led the match with 16 kills for Western Michigan as Duffy had 43 assists.
NIU returns home to host Miami Saturday night at 6 p.m. at Victor E. Court. Saturday night's match is NIU's Cancer Awareness Night. The first 75 fans in attendance will receive a free NIU Beat Cancer t-shirt. Due to the Trevor Noah concert at the Convocation Center that night, those coming to the match should park in lot C3 and enter through Entrance 5.
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