KALAMAZOO, Mich.—The Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball squad battled Western Michigan in a three-set game on Tuesday evening. The Huskies fell short to the Broncos of Western Michigan, 21-25, 22-25, 19-25.

Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) recorded her 1,000-career kill in the first set, giving the Huskies their ninth point of the game.
Erdmann led the Huskies with 10 kills on the night while Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) added nine kills of her own. Atiemo, the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week, tallied four blocks in the contest and led the team in that statistical category.  

"We learned a lot from tonight's match and battled in each set," said NIU head coach Sondra Parys. "There are a few plays here and there that if we (had) executed at a higher clip, it would have been a completely different match. I give credit to Western; they are a talented team that makes you earn your points. We sided-out well and our offensive numbers reflected that. Our focus now turns to getting better this week and preparing for Central this weekend."

The Huskies saw Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) open with a kill and a 4-2 run for the Huskies. The Broncos answered the Huskies opening points with seven unanswered points. Atiemo, who had the lone service ace for the Huskies, brought the opening set within one at 9-6. Four different Huskies recorded kills over a 6-4 Huskie run. The Broncos kept a three-point advantage over the Huskies as Atiemo was credited with back-to-back blocks late in the set.

The Huskies had a hitting percentage of .323 in the opening set with 14 kills.

After the Broncos opened the second set with three consecutive points, Dykes and the Huskies responded with three points of their own. Dykes was a factor in three of the Huskies four points, including two of her five kills on the night. The Huskies would bring the game within one on a Nazli Güvener (Ankara, Turkey/Elvankent Sinar) kill at 15-16. Erdmann would be credited with two kills in three Huskie points as the Huskies continued to battle in the second set. Atiemo added two late kills as the Huskies dropped the set 22-25.

Atiemo and Erdmann noted early kills in the third and final set as the Broncos opened on an 8-3 run. Dykes added a kill on a set from Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) to bring the Huskies within seven at 7-14.  Led by a pair of kills from Erdmann, the Huskies went on a 7-3 run in the set. The Broncos held off a late charge from the Huskies, which saw Atiemo and Erdmann add kills and a block from Atiemo in the closing points.
Five Huskies recorded individual hitting percentages of .300 or better, while Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) led the Huskies defense with 12 digs.

The Huskies were credited with a .286 hitting percentage in the second set and a .116 hitting percentage in the third and final set. For the game, the Huskies offense had 40 kills and a hitting percentage of .229.

The Huskies move their record to 8-13, 7-3 MAC on the season. The Huskies will conclude the series with Western Michigan in DeKalb on Nov. 15.

The Huskies return to the court on Oct. 20 and 21 as they hit the road for competition against Central Michigan. The Huskies have first serve at 5 p.m. CT on Oct. 20 and a 3 p.m. match time on Oct. 21.