DeKALB, Ill.—Winning their third straight match, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball squad swept the regular-season series over the Eastern Michigan University Eagles (2-19, 0-9 MAC). The Huskies (8-12, 6-2 MAC) posted set scores of 25-21, 25-19, 25-16 on Friday night to celebrate the Huskies homecoming weekend.

As a team, the Huskies recorded a hitting percentage of .248 with 40 kills. The Huskies recorded their second match with double-digit blocks, recording 10 blocks in the contest.

"To sweep the weekend at home was a great step closer to our goal (as a team)," said head coach Sondra Parys. "We are continuing to find our strengths and get better as a team, which helps us moving forward in the season. There were a lot of great individuals who had great performances which is why we had such great control throughout the match."

The Huskies took control of the first set, taking a four-point lead early on a Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) service ace. Atiemo was getting the work done on both sides of the ball, recording a combined five kills and blocks within six points. The Huskies took a 10-point lead on an Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) kill. The Eagles fought their way back into the set, coming with two at 22-20. Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded two kills in the final points of the set as the Huskies held off a late charge by the Eagles.

The second set was a battle as neither team was able to maintain more than a three-point lead early. Nedic and Dykes hit back-to-back kills for the Huskies to break a tied set at eight. Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) recorded her third kill of the set, starting the Huskies on a 6-2 run late and a five-point lead. Erdmann recorded three of the Huskies last four kills of the set.

After opening the third set with back-to-back points, the Eagles scored three unanswered points to take a 3-2 lead over the Huskies. An attacking error by the Eagles broke the tie at six as the Huskies took the lead for the final time. A service ace by Erdmann started a 4-1 run for the Huskies. In the final 10 points of the match, the Huskies recorded five kills and three blocks for their third consecutive win.

With her nine kills in the match this evening, Erdmann is just one kill away from reaching the 1,000-career kill mark. Atiemo recorded a hitting percentage of .583 to lead the team while Nedic is 14 kills away from reaching 500-career kills.

The Huskies are headed to Michigan for a three-game road swing. The Huskies will take on Western Michigan on Oct. 17 before facing Central Michigan on Oct. 20 and 21.