BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team hit .455 in the fifth set as the Huskies earned their first win at Bowling Green since 2015, topping the Falcons, 10-25, 25-23, 25-22, 20-25, 15-9, on Friday evening (Sept. 22) at the Stroh Center. 

Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) and Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) each tallied 17 kills in the match for the Huskies, with Nedic hitting .516 and Erdmann adding 13 digs for her third double-double of the year. Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) added 11 kills while Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) recorded a match-high 15 digs. 

"The message that we delivered to the team is that this is what non-conference was all about," said NIU head coach Sondra Parys. "We faced tough opponents, like Bowling Green, that put us in high-pressure situations that we felt prepared for, and we were able to execute tonight. I'm really proud of them for how composed they stayed, especially in big moments. We closed a tight set three, gained some momentum in four and the entire fifth set was some of the cleanest volleyball we have played in a high-pressure situation."

In the fifth, neither team led by more than two until a three-point run gave the Huskies an 11-7 advantage. Dykes and Nedic both had kills during the burst for the Huskies. After four consecutive side outs, NIU was within two points of the victory and Nedic clinched the win for the Huskies with back-to-back kills on the serve of Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) to give NIU the win. 

Nedic and Dykes each had four kills and hit .667 in the set. As a team, the Huskies hit .455 with 12 kills and two errors. Hoffmeier had four digs in the set. 

Bowling Green hit .611 in the opening set with 11 kills and zero errors to take the first frame, 25-10. Lauryn Hovey had a team-high four kills in the set for the Falcons, Erdmann had five kills for NIU. 

NIU fell behind 6-2 in the early going of set two, but the Huskies rallied to tie the set at eight and took a 14-10 lead, forcing a Bowling Green timeout. The Falcons then evened the set at 18 before the teams traded points to 23-all. A Bowling Green service error, followed by a block from Erdmann and Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) gave the set to the Huskies, 25-23. 

Nedic has four kills in the set while Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) recorded four blocks. 

The Huskies went in front after taking the third set, 25-22, finishing the set on a 6-0 run. The third set had 12 ties and five lead changes as neither team led by more than two until, tied at 16, Bowling Green scored four-straight to go in front, 20-16. With the Falcons up 22-19, a kill from Nedic sparked the late Huskie run to take the set. Two-straight Bowling Green errors were followed by a kill from Erdmann and two more Falcon miscues, giving the set to NIU. 

Erdmann recorded seven kills in the set, hitting .545, Nedic added four as the Huskies hit .471 as a team with 18 kills and just two errors. 

The NIU offense continued its strong play in the fourth as the Huskies hit .323 with two errors. Bowling Green tallied 18 kills in the set, however, hitting .405 as the Falcons pushed the match to the distance with a 25-20 victory in set four before the Huskies rallied to win in five. 

Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) recorded 26 assists and Hurt had 23 as the Huskies made just six errors over the final three sets of the match, hitting .413 in those final three sets. 

Hovey had a match-high 19 kills for Bowling Green, Mia Tyler added 17. 

NIU will return home next weekend as the Huskies host Miami on Friday, Sept. 29 and Saturday, Sept. 30. First serve on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match is slated for 3 p.m. Tickets for NIU Volleyball are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.