DAVIDSON, N.C. -- The Northern Illinois University volleyball team was upended by Davidson and Queens on Saturday (Sept. 2) at the Wildcat Classic. The Huskies fell in four sets to Davidson (25-22, 18-25, 25-19, 25-20) before suffering a five-set defeat to Queens (25-20, 25-20, 22-25, 18-25, 15-11) in the tournament finale. 

In the second match of the afternoon for the Huskies, Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) tallied a match-high 19 kills while Nazli Güvener (Ankara, Turkey/Elvankent Sinar) added 14. Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) posted a match-high 36 digs. 

Queens jumped out to a 12-5 lead in the opening set and extended its advantage to 17-9. The Huskies closed the gap to just a pair, 19-17, before the Royals closed out the first frame, 25-20. Ellis Sargent had five kills for the Royals while Jesse George posted nine digs. 

In the third, NIU fell behind 6-1 before rallying to even the set at 10 courtesy of a 7-0 run. Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) closed the run with a pair of kills. The Huskies led in the third, 21-20, before a Queens service error and back-to-back kills from Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) and Güvener helped NIU create a four-point gap as they would take the set, 25-22. Hoffmeier had 12 digs in the third set. 

A six-point run on the serve of Hoffmeier helped NIU build an early 7-3 advantage in the fourth. Queens trimmed the Huskie lead back to just a pair, 12-10, before three-straight Huskie points gave NIU a five-point lead. Nedic tallied six kills and Güvener had five in the set as NIU forced a fifth with a 25-18 win. 

Queens built a quick 4-0 lead in the fifth and extended that advantage to 12-5. Trailing 14-6, NIU scored five-straight, including a pair of kills from Brandt, to get within three, but an error ended the Huskie run and gave the Royals the five-set win. 

Brandt finished the match with seven kills on 19 swings, hitting .368. Sargent and Alleigh Johnson each had 13 kills for Queens, George recorded 35 digs for the Royals. 

Earlier in the day, Nedic recorded a match-high 16 kills, Hoffmeier had 25 digs while Mihacevich tallied a double-double with 26 assists and 10 digs as the Huskies fell to host Davidson in four. 

Three-straight points helped NIU pull even with Davidson at 17 in the opening set. The set was even at 22 until three-straight points from the Wildcats gave Davidson the first set, 25-22. Nedic had five kills for NIU in the opening frame while Hoffmeier had eight digs. 

A five-point burst by NIU early in the second set gave the Huskies a 10-5 advantage in the early going. NIU hit .429 in the opening 15 points of the set. Davidson pulled back within one, 15-14, before three-straight Huskie points, capped by a block from Charlie Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) and Nedic, put the Huskies back in front by four, 18-14. NIU went on to take the set, 25-18, holding the Wildcats to just .028 hitting. 

Davidson built a 13-5 advantage early in the third set. The hosts' lead reached 22-11 before the Huskies fought back to within five points, 22-17. Davidson scored three of the final five points to take the set, 25-19. 

The Wildcats led 17-2 in the fourth set before a kill and an ace from Atiemo, followed by a kill from Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston), brought NIU within a pair, 17-15. Davidson responded with the next three points as the Wildcats went on to take the set, 25-20. 

Jackie Bardin had 15 kills to pace Davidson. 

NIU will return to action at the DePaul Invitational on Thursday, Sept. 7, as the Huskies face host DePaul at 7 p.m. NIU will also meet Evansville on Friday (Sept. 8) and St. Thomas on Saturday (Sept. 9) at DePaul.