ATHENS, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University volleyball dropped its contest to the Ohio Bobcats Saturday afternoon at the Ohio University Convocation Center. NIU fell in straight sets (21-25, 20-25, 22-25) to conclude its fourth-straight road match.

"I thought we did a good job of serving and our passing group did a good job of handling first contact," said head NIU coach Ray Gooden. "We're still looking to get a good, complete match together. But we did see some improvements, especially with our serving and pass game,"

How it Happened: NIU tied the first frame at 6-6 after an Ohio error, then took the lead when Sammi Lockwood (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) laid down a huge solo block at the net. The Huskies extended their lead to 17-15 after a 3-0 run which was capped by by-to-back aces from Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy). But that sparked the Bobcats to close the set on a 10-4 run as they claimed the first set.

In the second set, Katie Jablonski's (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) kill from Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) made the score 4-3, NIU early on. But the Huskies relinquished the lead following two Ohio kills and never regained it for the remainder of the set. The Huskies did tie the frame at 17-17, but the Bobcats closed the set on an 8-3 run to win the second set.

NIU hit .190 and had 14 kills in the third and final frame, its best of the day. The Huskies had a four-point advantage at 12-8 after a Jablonski kill, and still led at 20-19 as the set was winding down. Four-straight points from Ohio however put NIU behind 23-20. The Huskies fought back and registered two points after kills from Aiemo and Mihacevich, but the Bobcats logged the final two kills to win the match in straight sets.

Notables:

• The Huskies led at the net with seven blocks while Ohio had six
• NIU had two more service aces (3-1) than the Bobcats
• Atiemo had all three of the Huskies' aces
• Jablonski led the Huskies with eight kills
• Lockwood posted five blocks which tied the match-high
• Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) had two blocks and seven kills
• Mihacevich led NIU with 23 assists
• Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) had a team-high 17 digs

Up Next: The Huskies return to the friendly confines of Victor E. Court next weekend when they host Central Michigan at 6 p.m. on Friday and 2 p.m. on Saturday.

"We need put ourselves in a spot to continue to be involved in the game. And then, get over that hump and keep pushing it as we move forward. Each game, each play, in each match."