KENT, Ohio. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team was swept (18-25, 17-25, 20-25) by Kent State Friday evening at the Memorial Athletic Center. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) had 12 kills and Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) hit .318 to pace NIU.

"Kent State did a really good job of playing tough against us. We've got to make sure to work hard at getting our team ready to play to play tomorrow night," said head NIU coach Ray Gooden.

How it Happened: After KSU opened scoring with a kill and an ace, the Huskies posted four-straight points to own a 4-2 advantage early in the first frame. From there, the two teams battled for momentum until the set was knotted at 17-17. Kent State suddenly had a flash of energy and finished the set on an 8-1 run to go up 1-0 in the match.

After a 5-1 NIU run in the second set, the Huskies had a 9-7 lead before another big run from Kent State allowed them to take control. KSU was up 13-9 its 6-0 run, but a kill from Jablonski kill put an end to the flurry. The Huskies scored four points to tie the set at 14-14, however, Kent State took off on a 10-1 run to close and win the set.

NIU had a slight edge at 9-8 in the third and final set after Brianna Scuric's (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) kill from Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan). Later, the Huskies increased their lead to 17-15, but Kent State thundered back on a 6-0 run to claim the lead. Mihacevich's ace cut the deficit to 20-22, but three-straight points from KSU finished the affair.   

"I thought we were doing things for sure – we put ourselves in a spot to be successful, we just couldn't close it out at the end. A couple of miscues and some plays made by Kent State did a really good job of defending their home court. So, that's where I have to work on making sure our team is going to be ready,"

Notables:

• NIU had seven aces compared to Kent State's six.
• Jablonski led the Huskies with 12 kills while Atiemo and Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) contributed eight a piece.
• Mihacevich posted 30 assists to pace NIU.
• Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) logged 23 digs, a match-high.

Up Next: NIU will face Ohio tomorrow at 3 p.m. CT in Athens. The match will broadcast live on ESPN3.
"We just need to need to play hard throughout each and every play, work our hardest and not have any breaks. When we play with our intensity and energy, we can do some really good things. So, we've got to be able to do that tomorrow night."