BUFFALO, NY – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team lost its third consecutive Mid-American Conference match Saturday night, falling 3-0 (20-25, 17-25, 15-25) to the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena.
 
NIU (6-16, 3-5 MAC) hit just .120 in the match as Buffalo posted a .429 hitting mark. Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) led the Huskies with seven kills. Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) and Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) each added six kills. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led NIU with nine digs and two service aces.
 
"We just couldn't find the rhythm we were looking for tonight," said head coach Ray Gooden. "Buffalo had momentum coming off of their win last night against Western Michigan and we just fell behind early."
 
Buffalo (7-13, 3-5 MAC) used two early kills from Polina Prokudina and an Abby Leigh solo block to take a quick 5-1 lead in the first set. NIU closed the gap to two points at 9-7 following kills from Bell and Wallace. Sparked by a Prokudina kill, the Bulls went on a 7-2 run to take a 20-13 lead. NIU got as close as four points twice late in the set, but a Monika Simkova kill gave Buffalo the opening set 25-20.
 
The Bulls went on a 4-1 run to start the second set, capped by Leigh solo block. Kills by Wallace and Bell got NIU within two, 7-5. The Huskies got within one at 12-11 as kills by Tilly and Wallace capped a 5-2 NIU run. Buffalo then won the next four points with a Prokudina kill giving the Bulls a 16-11 lead and forcing NIU to call a timeout. The two sides traded points up to 19-14, when a Tilly kill and Karlen ace got the Huskies within three points at 19-16. Buffalo responded with a 5-0 run to take a 24-16 lead and won the set 25-17 with a Simkova kill.
 
Buffalo capitalized on a 4-0 run capped by a block from Lexi Nordmann and Scout McLerran to take an 8-4 lead in the third. Buffalo extended its lead to six, 12-6, before NIU called a timeout to stem the Bulls' momentum. The Huskies then won the next three points with a Kennedy Shelley (Burlington, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) ace and a Milbrath kill cutting the deficit in half at 12-9. Buffalo responded with a 6-1 run that included aces from Leigh and Rachel Sanks to go up 18-10. The Bulls won the set 25-15, and the match 3-0.
 
NIU returns home for a pair of matches at Victor E. Court next weekend for Homecoming. The Huskies host Kent State on Friday, October 25 at 6 p.m. and Ohio on Saturday, October 26 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for both matches are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets. For next Saturday's match, fans can receive $3 tickets by showing their ticket from the NIU Homecoming football game at the box office. Kids age 13 and under can receive $2 tickets when they come to the match in their Halloween costume.
 
--NIU--