MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Several players for the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball squad had strong performances as the Huskies fell in MAC play to the Central Michigan University Chippewas. The Huskies had set scores of 15-25, 25-16, 24-26, 18-25 in a four-set battle against the Chippewas.
Isabelle Percoco (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) was credited with a season-high 14 kills and led the Huskies with a -hitting percentage of .522.
Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) recorded her first double-digit kill match since the October 5 match against Ohio, tallying 13 kills and a hitting percentage of. 387.
"We had several players with strong performances, and it shows in the box score," said NIU head coach
Sondra Parys. "Central (Michigan) did a good job of pushing us, which is something we hadn't seen in a while. What the score(line) doesn't show is how much we grew as a team. We are using that growth as motivation for our next four matches at home."
After opening the first set on with two unanswered points, the Chippewas took a four-point advantage over the Huskies on an error at 11-7. Dykes ended the scoring drought for the Huskies with a kill from
Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, OH/Pauda Franciscan). A series of kills from the Chippewas put the Huskies offense in a seven-point deficit. Percoco was credited with five of her 14 kills in the first set, having a hitting percentage of .714 in the set.
A Mihacevich kill started a 12-2 run by the Huskies in the second set, which saw three blocks and four errors by the Chippewas. Four different Huskies got in on the action during an 8-2 run through the middle of the set as the Huskies took a 15-point lead (19-4). The Chippewas offense strung together a 7-2 run to trim the Huskies lead to nine late in the set. The Huskies were credited with 12 kills in the second set (hitting percentage of. 235). The Huskies held off a late run by the Chippewas, ending the set with a block and an ace.
After trading points early in the third set, the Huskies took a 6-3 lead that started with a Percoco kill. The Chippewas answered with a 4-1 run of their own to tie the game at seven. A Huskie block gave the Huskies a five-point lead (13-8) nearing the middle of the set. Percoco and
Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) hit back-to-back kills for the Huskies before Central Michigan went on a 5-1 run to tie the game at 18. The teams had battled late in the set, with Central Michigan ending on a 4-1 run to win 26-24. The Huskies recorded a hitting percentage of .35 in the third set, their best of the match.
Central Michigan took a 5-3 lead over the Huskies early, with back-to-back kills. A block by
Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) and Percoco brought the game within one early for the Huskies. The Chippewas offense went on a 6-2 run before a
Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) paused the Chippewas run. Percoco recorded a pair of kills before Dykes added her own pair of kills for the Huskies offense late. The Huskies fell 25-18 in the set, recording two aces, two blocks, and nine kills in the final set.
Jada Cerniglia (Cross Plains, Wis./Middleton) had two of the Huskies five service aces in the contest. Cerniglia had a single ace in Friday's match against the Chippewas, marking her first back-to-back match with a service ace since Bowling Green (Sept. 21 and Sept. 22).
Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky/Assumption) and Mihacevich led the team with 10 digs respectively as the Huskies tallied 52 digs total.
As a team, the Huskies had a hitting percentage of .232, with 50 kills.
After the loss, the Huskies volleyball squad drops to 8-15 on the season and 6-5 overall.
The Huskies return to the DeKalb for a four-game home stretch, starting on Oct. 27. The Huskies will host Akron for MAC play, with first serve set for 6 p.m.
