DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team dropped the opening match of it's two-match series with the Ohio Bobcats 3-0 (17-25, 22-25, 21-25) Friday afternoon at Victor E. Court.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) led the Huskies with nine kills, hitting .500 with 10 digs. Middle Blockers Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) and Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) each had eight kills with Kemp adding three blocks. Kennedy Shelley (Burlington, Colo./Lewis-Palmer) had 10 digs and two aces.
 
"There are times right now where we've been playing streaky," said head coach Ray Gooden. "We just have to play some grind-it-out, work-it-out type volleyball. We've got to get in that battle of going point to point, play to play instead of riding these peaks and valleys right now."
 
Ohio (11-7, 11-7 MAC) used a 9-0 run in the first set to take a 10-3 lead on a Tia Jimerson solo block. The Huskies closed the gap to three with a 3-0 run to make the score 12-9 on kills from Wallace and Jablonski. The Bobcats used a 5-0 run at 13-1 to take an 18-10 lead on a Marina Rodrigues kill and an ace by Vera Giacomazzi. Ohio hit .500 in the opening set to take it 25-17.
 
NIU (8-13, 8-13 MAC) used a pair of Shelley aces to take a 4-0 lead in the second set. The Huskies led 10-7 when a Rodrigues kill sparked a 4-0 Ohio run that put the visitors ahead 11-10. NIU took back the lead on two Wallace kills that made the score 13-12. Ohio then won the next four points to go ahead 17-13, forcing a Huskies timeout. The Huskies got as close as two points at 22-20 on a kill from setter Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon), but the two teams traded points the rest of the way which allowed Ohio to win the set 25-22 and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
 
The Huskies took an 8-6 lead in the third behind a 4-1 run that included a kill and an ace from Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan). NIU's lead grew to four at 14-10 following back-to-back kills by Kemp. The Bobcats rallied back with a 7-1 run to take an 18-16 lead. Ohio led 20-18 when a Jablonski kill and Kemp solo block tied the set at 20. The Bobcats closed the set on a 5-1 run, getting a block from Giacomazzi and Jimerson to take the set 25-21 and the match 3-0.
 
"Ohio has great size and they're physical," Gooden said. "We have to use our smarts more. They're a physical team and we're more of a tempo team. We have to use our strengths against theirs, and if we're able to use tempo and some variety I think we can get to them."
 
Ohio hit .400 in the match, holding NIU to a .247 mark. The Huskies held a 40-39 advantage in digs and a 6-5 edge in service aces. Maggie Nedoma led the match with 15 kills as Jimerson added 14 kills and four blocks.
 
The two teams wrap up the regular season Saturday at 1 p.m. Prior to the match, NIU will honor seniors Kennedy Wallace and Kelsy Turskey (Prairie Grove, Ill./Prairie Ridge) for Senior Day.
 
--NIU--