DEKALB, Ill. – Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) recorded a team-high 11 kills as the Northern Illinois University volleyball team swept Miami, 25-16, 25-18, 25-21, on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 30) in Victor E. Court for its third-straight win. The Huskies hit .312 as a team and has just seven attack errors as they improved to 3-1 in Mid-American Conference play. 

Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) had eight kills and hit .375, Isabelle Percoco (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg) tallied seven kills, hitting .778 while Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) posted seven kills, hit .429 and recorded seven blocks. NIU had 10 total blocks in the match to just two for Miami.

"We didn't really know what we would get from Miami in the return (match), but our focus was to not let that impact what we do," said NIU head coach Sondra Parys. "We came out very confident, we used the word composure a lot and executed in peak moments again. It was a little tight early and I think we learned how to put pressure on but still execute at a little bit higher clip."

Tied at 10 in the opening set, NIU used an 8-0 run to build an insurmountable lead. Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) had an ace during the run, Erdmann scored a pair of kills and the Huskies had three blocks during the burst. 

Erdmann had five kills in the opening set as NIU hit .303 with 12 kills and just two errors. Hoffmeier recorded six digs while Atiemo posted four blocks and Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) added three. The Huskies held Miami to a .073 hitting percentage in the first set as the RedHawks recorded 12 kills and nine errors. 

Miami led early in the second set before NIU pulled even at 14 and took a two-point lead, 17-15. After the RedHawks cut the Huskie advantage to one, NIU scored the next three points to take a 20-16 lead. Erdmann tallied a kill during the three-point burst while Percoco and Atiemo combined for a block to give the Huskies the four-point edge as they went on to take the set, 25-18. 

Erdmann recorded five kills in the second set and Nedic added three. Miami hit just .103 in the second frame with 10 kills and seven errors. 

The third set was tied at 15 when a kill from Percoco, a kill from Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) and an ace by Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) put NIU up by three. The RedHawks fought back to even the set at 20 before a four-point spurt by NIU. Dykes opened the run with a kill, Percoco and Atiemo combined on a block, Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) had an ace and Atiemo added a kill to give NIU a 24-20 advantage. The RedHawks fought off one match point by Atiemo recorded her third kill of the set to finish the match, 25-21. 

NIU hit .351 in the final set with 14 kills and one error. 

Hurt had 21 assists in the match, Mihacevich recorded 15 while Hoffmeier had a match-high 11 digs. Chelsea Williams had a match-high 15 kills to lead Miami. 

NIU heads back on the road next weekend as the Huskies visit Ohio on Thursday, Oct. 5, and Kent State on Friday, Oct. 6. NIU returns to DeKalb when it hosts Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Oct. 12 and Friday, Oct. 13, tickets for the two matches against the Eagles, and all remaining NIU home matches, are available now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.