TOLEDO, Ohio. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team slipped in straight sets to the Toledo Rockets Friday night at Savage Arena. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) led NIU will 11 kills in the loss.

"We are continuing to learn how to battle. And though we're not seeing the results at the end that we're hoping for, there are things that we are doing that are improving," said head NIU volleyball coach Ray Gooden. "We're going to continue to work on improving to get better so we can play the type of match that we're looking for, the kind of match that's needed to be successful,"

How it Happened: The Huskies (13-7, 6-4 MAC) took their first lead of the match in the first set after responding to Toledo's (14-7, 7-3 MAC) 3-0 lead with a 4-0 run. The Rockets however regained control of the set following a 4-0 run of their own and never relinquished it. NIU came within four points after a pair of kills and two Toledo errors, but the Rockets hung on to win the first frame, 25-16.

A service ace from Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) gave NIU a 1-0 lead in the second set, but Toledo followed with a 10-2 run to claim a 10-3 edge early. The Huskies found some success late in the set after going on a 5-2 run which was capped by two Rockets' errors, but Toledo took the second frame 25-15 after posting two kills to end the set.

The Huskies started fast again in the third and final set with a 3-0 run after a kill from Jablonski, an ace from Bertucci and a Toledo error. NIU increased its lead to 11-7 with another 3-0 run, but the home team stayed right with the Huskies. Toledo cemented its comeback after knotting the frame at 21-21 before finishing the set on a 5-1 run. In the end, NIU fell 25-22 in the final set.

"In the second two sets, we had starts - we started off with an ace and had positive plays. There are times where we're doing some really good things. We just have to continue to work on keeping our runs positive for as long as possible and be a little bit more disciplined in different areas so that we can have opportunities to find success,"

Notables

• Despite losing the match, NIU won at the net with three team blocks compared to the Rockets' two.
• Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) and Sammi Lockwood (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) had two blocks each.
• Brianna Scuric (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) had one.
• Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) posted 23 assists.
• Bertucci had 17 digs plus two aces.
• Jablonski rounded things out with a double-double as she owned 11 kills and 12 digs.

Up Next: The two teams will head back to the hardwood tommorow at 4 p.m. EST for a rematch.

"We've talked really hard about trying to see what we're going to go do. I think that we saw moments of it, we just need to continue to keep battling to get the breaks that we're looking for and have the breakthrough that we need."