KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Champions of the KC Roos Classic, the Northern Illinois University volleyball team (5-3,0-0 MAC) cruised to their second sweep of the weekend. After beating Kansas City in three sets yesterday, the Huskies doubled down on another three-set win (25-16, 25-22, 25-19) today over Wichita State (3-5,0-0 AAC).

"I thought the quality of the teams we played this weekend really challenged us to be a good team. I saw us take some positive steps towards becoming a better team for each other and NIU," said head volleyball coach Ray Gooden.  

How it Happened: A 7-1 run from NIU gave the Huskies a 9-5 advantage early in the first set. NIU was able to keep that separation throughout the remainder of the set thanks to a .394 hitting percentage (match-high) and just one attacking error. The squad ended the first frame on an 8-2 run before Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) had the set-winning kill from Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan).

The second set proved to be the closest of the day. WSU came within one point (17-18) after Morgan Stout's kill, but that sparked a quick 3-0 run from the Huskies. Two Shocker's attacking errors and a kill from Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) gave NIU the 21-18 lead. Atiemo again had the set-winner from Mihacevich to give the Huskies a 2-0 lead.

In the final frame, NIU was clicking in all phases of the game. On both defense and offense, WSU could not slow down NIU – the Huskies raced out to a 20-10 lead before the Shockers could blink. A kill from Atiemo and a WSU attacking error put a stamp on the straight set triumph.

"I think we learned from the last time we had an 11 a.m. match - we had some regrets; the team didn't want to have any today. I thought that their energy and level of teamwork was exceptional,"

Notables: NIU's .343 hitting percentage was their best since logging .371 in their 3-0 win over Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 10, 2021. Mihacevich posted a double-double with 31 set assists and 11 digs. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) had a match-high 13 kills while Dykes exploded for a career-high .550 hitting percentage with 11 kills. On defense, Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) led NIU in digs with 12. Sammi Lockwood (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) smashed her career-high at the net with nine blocks to help the Huskies in the win.  

Mihacevich (300 set assists), Dykes (72 kills) and Bertucci (140 digs) were named to the All-Tournament team for their efforts this weekend.

Up Next: This coming weekend, NIU welcomes Rhode Island (3-5, 0-0 A10) and Southern Indiana (0-8, 0-0 OVC) to Victor E. Court. The Huskies will face Rhode Island on Friday at 6 p.m. which will be streamed live on ESPN 3. Then, on Saturday, NIU will take on Southern Indiana at 11 a.m.

"This week, we'll work on getting ourselves rested and ready to work on taking another step. Despite getting two wins this weekend, there's still plenty of volleyball for us to improve on and to get better at. So, we're going to search for more quality, over quantity and continue to work on becoming a better team."