DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team had three players in double-digit kills Friday night but could not get past the Central Michigan Chippewas in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams, falling 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 16-25) at Victor E. Court.
 
"We did better things tonight, but we just have to continue to take care of our side a little better," said head coach Ray Gooden. "We had more errors tonight than we wanted, give credit to Central, but I think we just got to continue to take care of our side. I thought we did some good things for the first part of the match."
 
Freshman Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) led the Huskies with a career-high 13 kills. Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) hit .308 with 12 kills and added three blocks. Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) chipped in 10 kills. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./Lafayette) led the match with 43 assists as Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) had a match-high 21 digs.
 
NIU (3-12, 0-1 MAC) started the match on a high note, taking a 7-2 lead in set one on kills by Tilly, Wallace, Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy), and Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb). The Huskies led 9-5 when a pair of NIU errors sparked a 7-2 run for Central Michigan with a Lisbeth Rosario-Martinez solo block putting the Chippewas ahead 12-11. With the set tied at 15, Rosario-Martinez put down a kill to start a 4-0 Central Michigan run to give the visitors a 19-15 lead. NIU battled back to win six of the next nine points with a Tilly kill putting the Huskies within one at 22-21 and forced a Central Michigan timeout. The Chippewas were able to trade points for the remainder of the set and won it 25-23 on a Rosario-Martinez kill.
 
Central Michigan (11-2, 1-0 MAC) fought out of an early deficit in set two to take an 8-7 lead on an Ara Wilson solo block. NIU quickly took back the advantage with a 7-1 run, highlighted by two Tilly kills, to take a 14-9 lead. The Huskies grew the lead to six at 17-11 when an Amanda Krahl (Pearland, Texas) kill capped a three-point run for NIU. Sparked by a Kalina Smith kill, the Chippewas won six of the next seven points to get within one at 18-17. The Huskies were able to grow their lead back to three as three Bell kills made the score 23-20. Central Michigan was able to get within one at 24-23, but Tilly clinched the set with a kill on NIU's second set point to win it 25-23 and tie the match at one set all.
 
NIU got out of an early 4-1 deficit in the third with a 6-1 run to go up 7-5. Three straight kills from Wallace capped that stretch for the Huskies. Central Michigan came back with back-to-back Smith kills and an ace to take an 8-7 lead. Wallace got NIU within one at 10-9, but an Anna Erickson kill started a 5-1 Chippewas run that put Central Michigan ahead 15-10. NIU was down 19-12 when a Milbrath kill started another 6-1 Huskies run, with a Wallace kill making the score 20-18. That was as close as NIU would get as Central Michigan took the set 25-21 to go up 2-1 in the match.
 
The Huskies and Chippewas traded points to start the fourth set with a Tilly kill giving NIU a 10-9 lead. Central Michigan then won six of the next seven points as a block by Erickson and Rosario-Martinez put the Chippewas ahead 16-10. NIU got as close as four points but were no match to Central Michigan's .370 hitting percentage in the set. A Rosario-Martinez solo block capped the match as the Chippewas won the fourth set 25-16 and the match 3-1.
 
NIU was held to a .096 hitting percentage as Central Michigan hit .250. The Chippewas held a 53-50 advantage in digs and a 10-8 edge in blocks. Smith led all players with 16 kills as Rosario-Martinez had a match-high six blocks.
 
The Huskies host defending MAC Tournament champions Eastern Michigan on Saturday at 6 p.m. Saturday is Girls and Women In Sport Night. All youth-aged girls that wear a uniform or jersey to Saturday's match will receive free admission with their parents getting a discounted $2 ticket for the match. They will also be able to get an NIU Volleyball t-shirt while supplies last.
 
--NIU--