DeKALB, Ill.—Three athletes from the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball program had double-digit kills as the Huskies fell in four sets on Senior Day. The Huskies dropped the Mid-American Conference game to the University of Toledo Rockets with set scores of 27-25, 12-25, 23-25, 23-25.

Nazli Güvener (Ankara, Turkey/Elvankent Sinar) and Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) had 12 kills for the Huskies. Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) added 10 kills for the Huskies and a service ace. Atiemo led the Huskies with eight blocks in the match.

After recording eight service aces in Friday's match against Toledo, the Huskies recorded four service aces in the opening set for a total of five aces in the game.

"I was proud of how we adjusted and responded from last night," said head coach Sondra Parys. "Our defense stepped up and helped slow down a good Toledo team. We are going to take the momentum of close sets and work on the little things as we prepare for next week."

The Huskies held the Rockets to a .259 hitting percentage, while recording a hitting percentage of .133. 

Opening the first set, the Huskies went on a 6-3 run with Atiemo grabbing an early kill. The Huskies and Rockets tied the match up twice before hitting their second service ace of the opening set. Nedic had two kills as the Huskies built their lead back up to three at 13-10. The Huskies had a 4-1 run late in the opening set to take a 19-14 lead over the Rockets. After the Rockets tied the game at 19, the Huskies and Rockets traded points over the next four points. Set point was reached three times between the squads as Atiemo sealed the opening set for the Huskies with a kill.  

The Huskies offense had four different players' record kills, including two from Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) as they opened on a 5-3 run. Nedic ended a 9-1 run by the Rockets. The Rockets held the Huskies to three kills over the next 17 points, with Atiemo and Güvener earning kills for the Huskies.

The Huskies opened the third set on a 4-1 run with back-to-back blocks from Atiemo and Güvener. Toledo fought back to tie the game at seven as Nedic answered with back-to-back kills. A service ace by Jada Cerniglia (Cross Plains, Wis./Middleton) put the Huskies up by four at 13-9 and forced a Toledo timeout. The Huskies were able to maintain a lead throughout the set before the Rockets tied the game up at 22. The Rockets outscored the Huskies 3-1 in the final points of the set to take a 2-1 lead.

The Rockets took a 6-2 lead early over the Huskies in the fourth and final set before Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) recorded the first Huskie kill of the set. The Rockets took control of the set early, building out to a 14-8 lead. Güvener connected with Mihacevich for a Huskie kill that started an 8-1 run by the Huskies. Atiemo and Mihacevich combined for a block as the Huskies led 18-16 late in the set. The Rockets scored eight unanswered points to reach the set point. Nedic started a late 5-0 run for the Huskies that fell short as the Rockets claimed the final point of the game.

The Huskies hit the road for a final time during the regular season on Nov. 10 and Nov. 11 as they travel to Ball State for a pair of matches. The first serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT in Muncie, Ind. on Nov. 10.