PEORIA, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team lost 3-0 (14-25, 20-25, 19-25) to the South Dakota Coyotes on Friday afternoon in the opening match of the CEFCU Classic hosted by Bradley at Renaissance Coliseum.
 
"We knew South Dakota was going to be an experienced and physical team," said head coach Ray Gooden. "They showed that at times. We made some good scrappy plays to stay involved in the match."
 
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) led the NIU offense with 10 kills, hitting .364 with a pair of blocks. Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) had a team-high 12 digs as Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) added 23 assists and six digs.
 
"Kennedy's success comes from a good first contact and our ability for the setter to locate the ball to where she is," Gooden said. "She's done a nice job of being very athletic and physical, and smart to score points. Now we're just looking for continued balance from other areas as well."
 
NIU (3-10) hung with South Dakota early in the opening set, getting within a point at 5-4 on a Wallace kill. An Elizabeth Juhnke kill started a 6-2 Coyotes run that put South Dakota ahead 11-6. South Dakota grew its lead to nine at 17-8 on back-to-back kills by Elizabeth Loschen. The Huskies battled back and won six of the next eight points as kills from Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) and Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) got NIU within five at 19-14. That was as close as the Huskies would get as South Dakota won the next six points to take the opening set 25-14.
 
The Huskies got off to a fast start in the second set. NIU opened the frame on a 7-2 run capped off by two Wallace kills. The Huskies led 15-10 when a Madison Harms kill and a block by Juhnke and Maddie Wiedenfeld sparked an 8-1 Coyotes run that gave South Dakota an 18-16 advantage. A Bell kill stopped the South Dakota momentarily and got NIU within one at 18-17. NIU was down two at 21-19 when South Dakota took four of the last five points to win the set 25-20 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
South Dakota (10-1) kept the momentum rolling into the third set. The Coyotes opened on a 6-2 run will kills from Loschen, Juhnke, Harms, and Sami Slaughter. NIU took advantage of some Coyotes errors to get within three at 7-4, but a Wiedenfeld kill sparked a 4-1 South Dakota run to give the Coyotes an 11-5 lead. The Huskies trailed 13-6 when a Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb kill) started a quick 3-0 run to make the score 13-9. South Dakota built up a 22-14 lead before the Huskies made one last rally. Highlighted by a block from Kemp and Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington), NIU went on a 5-1 run to make the score 23-19. However, a Jenna Wagemester kill and a block by Loschen and Harms gave South Dakota the set 25-19 and the match 3-0.
 
The Coyotes hit .363 for the match and held NIU to a .083 mark. South Dakota also held a 9-3 advantage in blocks and a 54-46 edge in digs. Slaughter led all players with 13 kills as Juhnke and Harms each had 10.
 
The Huskies take on Bradley on Saturday at 2 p.m. in the final match of the CEFCU Classic.
 
--NIU--