AKRON, OH – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team opened its road weekend with a 3-0 (22-25, 22-25, 12-25) loss to the Akron Zips at James A. Rhodes Arena Friday night.
 
Setter Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) had her fifth double-double of the season with 23 assists and 10 digs. Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) led NIU with nine kills, hitting .316 added a pair of blocks and an ace. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led all players with 23 digs.
 
"We were able to do some really nice things but just couldn't get the play we needed to get over the hump in the first two sets," said head coach Ray Gooden. "Credit Akron for having the experience and the ability to win those tough plays. They were able to win the serve and pass battle tonight."
 
NIU (6-15, 3-4 MAC) and Akron traded points early, with the Huskies taking a 9-8 lead on a Zips error. Behind two kills from Elya Karsner and an ace by Taylor Kuruzovich, Akron went on a 6-2 run to go ahead 14-12. The Huskies were able to tie the set at 15, but an Alexis Adleta kill sparked a four-point Zips run to give Akron its largest lead of the set 19-15. NIU got back within one by taking four of the next five points with a block by Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) and Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) to make the score 20-19. The Zips earned set point at 24-20 following a block by Ashley Richardson and Emily Weigand. The Huskies fought off two of the set points with a Milbrath kill and a block by Wallace and Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), but Akron took the set 25-22 on a Karsner kill.
 
Akron (13-5, 6-1 MAC) jumped out to a 7-3 lead to start the second set capped off by a Weigand ace. NIU used a 4-0 run, highlighted by a Tilly solo block, to take its first lead of the match 10-9.  The Zips responded with a 4-1 run as kills by Karsner, Richardson, and Weigand gave Akron a 13-12 lead. The Huskies regained the lead with two kills from Wallace and a Balensiefer kill to go up 15-13. Akron then used a 5-2 run to take an 18-17 advantage on a block by Karsner and Richardson. NIU battled back with kills from Kemp and Wallace to tie the set at 22. Akron then got a Huskies error, an ace from Weigand and a block to win the set 25-22 and go up 2-0 in the match.
 
The Zips kept up the momentum into the third with a 6-0 run to start, punctuated by a Fulmer solo block. NIU closed the deficit to five at 13-8 following a Balensiefer ace and a kill from Tilly. Akron responded with a 5-0 run that included three consecutive Karsner kills to take a 10-point lead at 18-8. The Zips hit .542 in the third set to win it 25-12 and the match 3-0.
 
Akron hit .295 for the match and held NIU to a .112 hitting percentage. The Zips also held a 10-4 advantage in aces and 8-6 edge in blocks. Karsner led the match with 14 kills as Weigand had 36 assists and 10 digs.
 
NIU is back in action Saturday night at Buffalo. First serve is at 5 p.m.
 
--NIU--