BOWLING GREEN, OH – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team was held to a .106 hitting percentage Saturday in a 3-0 (20-25, 22-25, 18-25) loss to the Bowling Green Falcons at the Stroh Center, moving to 0-2 on the 2021 spring season.
 
Sophomores Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) and Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) led the Huskies with seven kills apiece. JoDee Kovanda (Lockport, Ill./West Florida) added six kills and eight digs. Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutchen) had a double-double with 21 assists and a team-high 12 digs.
 
NIU (0-2, 0-2 MAC) hung with the Falcons early in the first set, playing to a 6-6 tie. A Katrin Trebichavska kill sparked a three-point Bowling Green run that put the hosts ahead 9-6. The Huskies answered back with three straight points of their own as kills from Jablonski and Angie Gromos (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) tied the set at nine. With the set tied at 11, Bowling Green won four of the next five points as three straight Katelyn Meyer kills put the Falcons ahead 15-12. NIU got within one when a Kovanda kill made the score 19-18 but Bowling Green won six of the last eight points to win the opening set 25-20.
 
Bowling Green (2-0, 2-0 MAC) used a 7-2 run midway through the second set to take a 15-10 lead. The Falcons' lead grew to six when a pair of Meyer kills made the score 17-11. The Huskies chipped away at Bowling Green's lead, getting back within three at 17-14 on a Kovanda kill. NIU used a 3-0 run late in the set to get within one, 22-21. After getting to 23-22, the Huskies had a pair of errors that gave the Falcons the second set 25-22.  
 
The Falcons raced out to an 8-3 lead to start the third set. NIU came back to tie the set at nine, going on a 6-1 run highlighted by a pair of blocks. With the set tied at 13, a pair of Petra Indova kills started a 7-1 Bowling Green that put the Falcons ahead 20-14. NIU got as close as five points, but a block and Indova's 16^th kill of the night secured the set 25-18 and the match 3-0.
 
NIU held a 6.0-5.0 advantage in blocks and a 41-40 edge in digs. Bowling Green hit .394 in the match. Meyer hit .474 with a match-high 19 kills.
 
"I think the biggest thing for us right now is just consistency," said head coach Ray Gooden. "Credit to Bowling Green for defending their home court. There were times where we'd get within two, within one, and were not able to just continue making that push. Bowling Green was just able to make plays at the right time to finish it out. We were doing some positive things but we need to do that for longer stretches of the match."
 
The Huskies host Toledo Jan. 28-29 at Victor E. Court in their first home series of the season. Thursday's match is at 6 p.m. with the Friday match at 4 p.m.
 
Although fans are unable to attend NIU volleyball matches this season, you can still make your presence felt in Victor E. Court by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). For just $60, fans can put their image on a cutout that will remain in place in the NIU Convocation Center for all NIU men's and women's basketball games during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from all fan cutouts will benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund. Click here to order your cutout.
 
--NIU--