DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team won its fifth straight match to close the regular season, defeating the Western Michigan Broncos 3-1 (25-18, 20-25, 25-20, 25-19) on Wednesday night at Victor E. Court.
 
"Both of our teams came in playing at a really high level," said head coach Ray Gooden. "We did a good job winning really tough points. Our defense was solid and our serve-and-pass were really good tonight. Our middles were very good and helped us get over the top."
 
The Huskies held Western Michigan to a .173 hitting percentage with a season-high 96 digs and nine blocks to the Broncos' two. Freshman libero Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) had a season-high 39 digs, tying her for the second-most digs in a four-set match in the country this season. Her performance also ties for the fifth-most digs in a single match in NIU volleyball history.
 
Three other Huskies had double-digit digs Wednesday night. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) had 18 digs for the second consecutive match and added eight kills. Samantha Juarez (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) had 16 digs and two aces. Setter Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) had a double-double with 41 assists and 14 digs.
 
NIU (16-12, 10-8 MAC) ran out to a 5-1 lead to open the match, highlighted by a two Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) kills and a kill and a block from Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy). The advantage grew to six at 11-5 on a Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) kill. The Huskies took an 18-11 lead on a Kemp kill when Western Michigan rattled off four straight points to get within three at 18-15. NIU answered with a 5-0 run of its own, capped by a Juarez ace, to take a 23-15 lead. The Huskies hit .314 in the opening set to take it 25-18.
 
Western Michigan (18-11, 11-7 MAC) tied the match at a set apiece with a 25-20 win in set two. Kemp and Jablonski combined for six kills in NIU's first 11 points to start the third, giving the Huskies an 11-7 lead. Sparked by an Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) kill, NIU ran off four straight points to extend its lead to seven at 17-10. The Broncos got as close as four points twice, but Mihacevich's fourth kill of the set gave NIU a 25-20 win and a 2-1 lead in the match. Mihacevich, Kemp and Atiemo combined for 15 of the Huskies' 19 kills in the set that put NIU back in the lead in the match.
 
The Huskies broke a 6-6 tie in the fourth with a 4-0 run. Angie Gromos (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) had a kill and two blocks to put NIU up 10-6. Later in the set Mihacevich recorded back-to-back aces to make the score 16-10. That was a small part of a 7-2 NIU run that eventually saw the Huskies take a 20-12 lead. The Huskies' defense shined in the fourth set, holding Western Michigan to a match-low .108 hitting percentage. Gromos had five of her seven kills of the match in the fourth, including on match point that gave NIU a 25-19 win and the match 3-1.
 
"Our team has done a good job of playing well together," Gooden said. "That's how we got to 10 wins in conference with this stretch at the end. We're excited to be able to play in the MAC Tournament coming up against Ohio."
 
NIU's middle blockers helped pace the Huskie offense on the night. Atiemo led NIU with 13 kills and hit .385, adding a team-high four blocks. Gromos also had four blocks and hit .571 with eight kills. Kemp hit .643 with nine kills and a solo block.
 
The Huskies enter the 2021 MAC Volleyball Championship, hosted by Ball State, as the sixth seed. NIU will take on third-seeded Ohio on Sunday, Nov. 21 at 6 p.m. CT with the match televised on ESPN+.
 
--NIU--