VALPARAISO, Ind. – Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) and Brianna Scuric (East Troy, Wis./East Troy) broke career-highs as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team (3-1, 0-0 MAC) opened the Popcorn Classic by dispatching Campbell (1-3, 0-0 Big South) in four sets (27-25, 25-19, 23-25, 25-19).

"I think we had a number of situations where we had to learn and take a step from either previous seasons or even with our group this year," said head volleyball coach Ray Gooden. "I thought that we really tried to manage them in the best way we could – we found more positives than not,"

How it Happened: The Huskies overcame 13 ties, a match-high, in the first set to claim the 27-25 triumph. NIU ended the set on a 5-2 run after a Campbell setting error sealed the set win. In the second set, the Huskies never looked back after opening the set on a 6-1 run. They finished as strong as they started with a 7-1 run which was capped with a kill from Scuric to go up 2-0.

The Camels won the third set after posting their best hitting percentage of the day (.324), but NIU shook off the loss in the fourth and final set. The Huskies rallied for 14 kills and 34 swings for their best hitting percentage of the match (.324) en route to the 25-19 victory.

"I thought our defensive group did a nice job of slowing down balls on the touch, playing good defense, scrapping it out and coming up with a good team win."

Notables: This was the first ever meeting between the two squads, NIU now holds a 1-0 series record. Scuric went off for a career-high 14 kills and 10 digs (double-double) while Mihacevich also smashed her career-high in set assists with 42. Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) had a game-high 26 digs while Sammi Lockwood (Cary, Ill./Prairie Ridge) posted three blocks. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) nabbed a double-double with 11 digs and 14 kills. Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) had a team-high .421 hitting percentage. NIU ended the match with a .242 hitting percentage and 56 kills compared to the Camel's .203 and 46.

Up Next: The Huskies will continue their run through the Popcorn Classic tomorrow when they play SIUE at 10 a.m. and Valpo at 5 p.m.