CEDAR FALLS, Iowa – Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) recorded a team-high 10 kills and had seven blocks as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team swept North Dakota, 25-17, 25-18, 25-19, in its second match on Friday (Sept. 15) at the UNI Tournament. Earlier in the day, the Huskies fell to 25th-ranked Dayton, 25-19, 25-13, 25-17.  

Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) added nine kills and nine blocks in the match against North Dakota, Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) had a match-high 14 digs. NIU hit .395 in the match with 39 kills and just five errors. 

"We knew we were going to face a tough opponent in Dayton," said NIU head coach Sondra Parys. "I think they were really excited about the opportunity; we got pushed pretty hard and the conversation after the match was that you have a choice in how you want to respond when you get pushed. We saw a complete shift from warmup and energy (against North Dakota), it was a full team effort, culture, buy-in to what type of team we want to be. 

"It was excited to see the fruits of our labor come together. They believed they could do it, they executed when it counted."

Leading 9-7 in the opening set, NIU used an 8-2 run to take a 17-9 advantage. Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) and Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) each had two kills during the run. The Huskie lead grew to as much as 24-12 before the Fighting Hawks saved five set points. Isabelle Percoco (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) closed the set with a kill as NIU hit .412 as a team in the opening frame with 15 kills and just one error. 

Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) tallied five kills in the opening set, hitting .500.

Tied at eight in the second set, NIU went on a 3-0 run with a pair of North Dakota errors and a block from Brandt and Erdmann. The Huskie advantage grew to four, 15-11, on a kill from Atiemo before back-to-back points for the Fighting Hawks trimmed the NIU lead to just a pair, 15-13. A 5-1 run, capped by a service ace from Jada Cerniglia (Cross Plains, Wis./Middleton), gave NIU a 20-14 lead as the Huskies went on to take the set, 25-18. 

NIU hit .400 in the second set, with 11 kills and three errors, while holding North Dakota to just .065. Atiemo and Dykes both had four kills in the set. 

An early 6-1 run in the gave NIU a 9-3 lead in the third. Cerniglia had a pair of aces to help the Huskies earn the early advantage. North Dakota trimmed the NIU lead back to a pair, 11-9, before the Huskies used a 5-1 burst to take the lead back to a half-dozen, 16-10. The Fighting Hawks cut the NIU advantage to four, but a kill by Atiemo sparked a three-point NIU run as the Huskies closed out the final set, 25-19, to complete the sweep. 

Atiemo had five kills in the set, hitting .625, as the Huskies recorded 13 kills with just one error in the set to hit .375 as a team. 

"Really good decisions and they were in the right situation to be able to execute," Parys said of NIU's offense hitting .395 against North Dakota. "They had a lot of confidence. That is something we had a good conversation about after the match this morning (against Dayton). They approached the North Dakota match with the right mindset and that allowed them to be smart and aggressive at the same time."

Kaycee O'Dell led North Dakota with a match-high 14 kills, Izzie McCormick and Lauren Perugini each had 10 digs. 

In the opening match of the day against nationally ranked Dayton, the Huskies hit .360 in the opening set, with 11 kills and just two errors. Percoco had three kills in the set with Atiemo, Dykes and Nedic each had a pair, but Dayton hit .371 in the set and claimed the opening frame, 25-19. 

The Flyers hit .300 in the second set as they took it, 25-13, before closing the match with a 25-17 victory in the third set. 

Lexie Almodovar had a match-high 13 kills to pace Dayton, Alayna Yates added 11 kills and Taylor Russell recorded 10. Dykes and Percoco each had five kills for the Huskies while Hoffmeier recorded 11 digs. 

The Huskies will conclude the UNI Tournament against host Northern Iowa on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 16, at 2 p.m. The match will be available on ESPN+.