DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team (15-10, 8-7 MAC) snapped its three-game skid Saturday with a Senior Day sweep (25-17, 25-14, 25-22) of Central Michigan (16-10, 9-6 MAC) at Victor E. Court. NIU hit .366 and three Huskies reached double-figure kills in the win.

"Appreciate the team for playing good team volleyball today. Those who are in the square and get opportunities, appreciate their hard work for what they did and appreciate the group on the side for having good support for their teammates out in the square," said head NIU volleyball coach Ray Gooden.

"We were due for a good, complete match, and I think we finally put one together today. We've been battling through a lot over the last couple of weeks - it was nice to end the regular season homestand on a really good note,"

How it Happened: Down 4-1 in the first set, a big kill from Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) sparked a 4-0 Huskie run, helping them gain the lead at 5-4. Later, NIU increased its lead to 21-13 after a 7-2 run was capped by a CMU error. The Huskies reached set point at 24-15 after another Central Michigan error before Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) logged the set-winning kill.

NIU owned a 15-9 advantage midway through the second frame following a Jablonski Kill and an ace from Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle). Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) concluded a 7-1 Huskie run with back-to-back kills, stretching NIU's lead to 22-12. The Huskies claimed the set on a 3-1 run and went up 2-0 in the match.

After CMU led the third set 5-4, NIU embarked on a 5-1 run to take a 9-6 lead. From there, the Huskies never relinquished their advantage, despite multiple attempts at a comeback from Central Michigan. The Chippewas came within one at 16-15, but Nedic laid down two monster kills from Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) and Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) to extend NIU's lead. At set point, CMU committed a service error to give NIU the sweep.

Notables: NIU led in every statistical category: Kills (43-35), aces (6-2), blocks (8-2), assists (40-33) and digs (48-43).

• Nedic logged a season-high 10 kills on 19 swings.
• Jablonski led with a match-high 12 kills. She added eight digs to round out her night.
• Dykes contributed 10 kills on 20 swings.
• Hurt posted a career-high 19 assists, also a team-high.
• Brianna Scuric (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) and Mihacevich had two aces each.
• Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) had a match-high six blocks.
• Bertucci posted a match-high 19 digs.

Up Next: NIU heads to Eastern Michigan (5-22, 4-11 MAC) next weekend for another weekend series. Friday's match will start at 6 p.m. EST while Saturday's starts at 4 p.m. EST. Both matches will broadcast on ESPN3.

"Good teams play their best volleyball this time of year. So that's what we're trying to do. Records don't matter if we're handling our side of the square, if we're playing well to the game and for each other. So if we can continue to do that, then we put ourselves in a good spot for positives."