DEKALB, Ill.—Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) recorded a career-high nine blocks in the contest as the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball program recorded 15 blocks, a season best. The Huskies (7-12, 5-2 MAC) swept the Eagles of Eastern Michigan (2-18, 0-8 MAC) on Thursday evening in DeKalb.

"I thought we did a really good job of starting strong and finding ways to close important sets, especially in set 2," said head coach Sondra Parys. "Going up 2-0 with a 30-28 win really dictated our confidence the rest of the match. The 15 blocks were awesome to see the adjustments that we made. Our offense was balanced which helped a lot of our attackers put up good numbers tonight."

The Huskies opened the game with three unanswered points. The Eagles brought the score within one early before Brandt recorded her opening kill of the match. Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) started a 3-1 run by the Huskies to go up 14-10. Later in the set, the Eagles would bring the score within one at 19-18 before tying the set at 19. The Huskies ended the first set on a 5-2 run, which saw Atiemo end the set with a service ace.

The Huskies and Eagles traded points early in the second set as neither team was able to gain an early advantage. Starting with Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) at the service line, the Huskies went on a 7-1 run. The Eagles fought their way back into the set with a series of kills, with a hitting percentage of .204 in the set. Tying the set up late at 20, the Eagles pulled ahead at 21-20 as the Huskies called a timeout. The Huskies saw 12 blocks assists in the closing points of the set as the Huskies prevailed in a thrilling 30-28 set victory.

The Huskies took a 10-4 lead in the third set before the Eagles were forced to call a timeout. The Huskies offense continued to put the pressure on, recording a hitting percentage of .370 in the set. The Huskies took a 12-point lead at 19-7 before the Eagles went on a 5-1 run late. Atiemo recorded the final kill of the game for the Huskies before stepping to the service line for the final four points of the game.

Brandt recorded a season-high eight kills in the match. Erdmann recorded 10 kills in the contest to lead the Huskies. Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill/Hinsdale Central) added eight kills for the Huskies as the team recorded 43 kills (.358 hitting percentage). Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill//IC Catholic Prep) recorded her second career double-double (13 digs, 21 assists). 

The Huskies conclude the series with Eastern Michigan on Friday, Oct. 13 in Victor E. Court on the NIU Campus. Friday's match will be Alumni night for the NIU volleyball program, and the team will be signing autographs post-match.