DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team opened its 2019 season on Friday, splitting its first two matches of the NIU Invitational at Victor E. Court. The Huskies opened their day with a 3-1 (25-21, 18-25, 25-14, 27-25) win over the Fairleigh Dickinson Knights, then closed the evening with a 3-1 (24-26, 25-23 16-25, 23-25) loss to the SIU Edwardsville Cougars.
"It was nice for us to win the first match of the day against FDU," said head coach
Ray Gooden. "I think all the teams this weekend are in that position where they're all really trying to have a good start. I thought there were moments where we did some pretty good things. There were a little more peaks and valleys than we wanted. At the end, it was nice for us to pull out the really tough game at the end to win that match."
NIU (1-1) came out firing in its first set against FDU (0-2), hitting .294 as a team with three service aces from
Kennedy Shelley (Burlington, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) to win it 25-21. After dropping the second set 25-18, the Huskies jumped out to a 12-6 lead in the third on the strength of kills by
Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb),
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper), and freshman
Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan.). The NIU lead grew to 10 at 19-9 after another Kemp kill. NIU hit .478 in the third set, winning it 25-14.
The fourth set proved to be a back-and-forth affair with eight ties and three lead changes. The Huskies trailed 12-10 when back-to-back
Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) aces sparked a 9-2 run that put NIU up 19-14. Bell had four kills in that stretch as well. The Knights chipped away at the Huskie advantage, eventually tying the set at 24 on a Victoria Demmene kill and taking a 25-24 lead on an NIU error. That was the last point for FDU, as NIU won the last three to win the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.
The Huskies hit .264 as a team against FDU with Bell leading the way with 14 kills. Kemp added 12 while hitting a team-high .478 and Wallace put down 11 kills. Balensiefer led the match with 49 assists as Karlen had a match-high 22 digs.
NIU's second match of the day against SIUE (1-1) was about as close a match can be, with three of the four sets decided by two points. The Huskies hung with the hot-hitting Cougars in the opening set, as SIUE hit .314 to NIU's .125. NIU battled out of a 20-16 hole to take a 23-20 lead with a 7-0 run that included two Karlen aces. The Cougars won six of the last seven points in the frame to win the set 26-24.
The Huskies used a 7-0 run midway through the second set to take a 22-15 lead, powered by a combined six kills from Bell and Wallace. NIU earned set point at 24-19 on a Balensiefer kill but had to withstand a late charge from the Cougars. SIUE won the next four points to get the score to 24-23. Kemp put down a kill on NIU's fifth set point to win the set 25-23 and tie the match at one set all. SIUE went back up in the match 2-1 with a 25-16 win in the third, hitting .333 to the Huskies' -.042.
The fourth set featured eight ties and three lead changes. NIU led early 7-5 when a Rachel McDonald kill sparked a 7-1 SIUE run that put the Cougars up 12-8. The Huskies stormed back with a 6-1 run of their own as a
Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) kill put NIU back in the lead 20-17. NIU led 22-19 when a Gabby Wimes kill started a five-point SIUE run that gave the visitors match point at 24-22. The Huskies fought off one match point on a Tilly kill, but McDonald's 21
st kill of the night gave SIUE the set 25-23 and that match 3-1.
"I think we need to have a better understanding of the situation," Gooden said following the SIUE match. "I think we have to manage situations better to know what we need to do and that takes some leadership and getting a little bit of toughness. We did a good job in the second set and battled. We just need more of that."
Tilly, Wallace, and Bell each led NIU with nine kills against SIUE. Balensiefer had 33 assists as Karlen led NIU with 14 digs and three aces. The Huskies had seven blocks in the game, led by Wallace's three. The Cougars hit .245 in the match to NIU's .123.
NIU closes this weekend's NIU Invitational Saturday at 1 p.m. at Victor E. Court against UC Riverside, which won both of its matches Friday.
--NIU--
