MOUNT PLEASANT, MI – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team came back from one set down Saturday night to defeat the Central Michigan Chippewas 3-1 (14-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-22) at McGuirk Arena to split this weekend's series to open Mid-American Conference play.
"We were more opportunistic tonight and won the right points at the right times," said head coach
Ray Gooden. "Everybody was able to contribute positively, whether it was defensively to go with the good things we did offensively."
Junior outside hitter
Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./New Hampshire) led all players with 18 kills, adding 14 digs for a double-double. Freshman
Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) put down a season-high 11 kills and added a pair of blocks.
Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) paced the NIU offense with 49 assists and added eight digs.
Central Michigan (7-7, 1-1 MAC) ran away with the first set, hitting over .500 to take it 25-14. NIU used a four-point run early in the second set to take a 9-7 lead on kills by Jablonski and Balensiefer. The Huskies led 14-12 when a Linnea Willer kill sparked a 5-1 Chippewas run that put Central Michigan ahead 17-15. Down 21-19, the Huskies got kills from Nedic, Mihacevich and
Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) to tie the set at 22-22. NIU got back-to-back kills from Jablonski to win the set 25-23 and tie the match at one set all.
NIU (7-5, 1-1 MAC) fell behind early in the third as Central Michigan ran out to a 9-3 lead. The Chippewas led 13-8 when a Jablonski kill sparked an 8-0 Huskies run that put NIU ahead 16-13. Mihacevich had two kills in the run which also included two
Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) aces. The Chippewas came back and tied the set at 18-18 on a Willer ace. The two teams then traded points up to 24-24. Jablonski gave NIU set point with a kill at 25-24, and
Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) clinched the set with a kill to make the score 26-24 and put the Huskies ahead 2-1 in the match.
"The great about our team this year is that we continue to battle throughout each match," Gooden said. "We just kept talking about competing and having the energy we needed to be successful and that got us back in the match. We had to make plays."
The Huskies had to make another early rally in the fourth, coming back to tie the set at 12 on a Mihacevich ace. NIU took its first lead of the set at 17-16 on a block by Nedic and Kemp. Nedic then put down a kill to put the Huskies up by two points, which forced a Central Michigan timeout. The NIU lead grew to five points when a Mihacevich ace gave the Huskies match point at 24-19. Central Michigan fought off three match points, but Jablonski's 18
th kill of the match gave NIU the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.
NIU hit .215 for the match, bolstered by a .310 mark in the third set and a .250 mark in the deciding set. The Huskies held a 71-68 edge in digs led by Bertucci's 19. Willer led Central Michigan with 16 kills.
NIU wraps up this current stretch of three consecutive road matches Tuesday night at Western Michigan. First serve at University Arena is set for 5 p.m. CT.
--NIU--
