BUFFALO, NY—The offense started clicking late for the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team (3-19, 1-11 MAC) as they dropped a Friday night (Nov. 1) match against the Bulls of the University at Buffalo (13-3, 9-4 MAC).  The match featured set scores of 9-25, 20-25, and 27-29.

Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) led the Huskies with a hitting percentage of .571 while Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) and Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) led the team with seven kills each.

Ella Strausberger (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) eclipsed 500-career assists this evening with her 14 assists in the match.

"Serve and pass was a huge reason why the first set went the way that it did. We immediately cleaned that up in (set) 2 & 3 which helped keep us in the game," said head coach Sondra D'Amore. "We've been able to make some systematic changes depending on our matches and it has helped. We're always looking into making those decisions and it's great to have options."

Game Recap

Grevengoed got the first kill of the evening for the Huskies as Buffalo took a 4-1 lead early. Alvin and Nedic split a pair of Bulls kills as NIU continued to battle early in the first set. The Huskies would record a pair of kills late in the set as Buffalo took the first set due to a large scoring run early.

Grevengoed opened the second set for the Huskies with a kill before Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) claimed her second kill of the night as the Huskies took a 3-1 lead early. The Huskies saw consecutive kills from Nedic and Emma McCartney (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) as the Huskies and Bulls traded the lead several times in the opening points. Led by a Grevengoed kill, the Huskies went on a 3-0 run that was answered by a 2-1 run by the Bulls as the teams found themselves tied at 13. Buffalo embarked on a 4-1 run late in the set to pull away as they tried to pull away from the Huskies. Despite a late scoring run by the Huskies, Buffalo took the second set in a 20-25 manner.

Strausberger opened the third set with a service ace as the teams traded points early. An Atiemo kill started the Huskies on a 4-1 run as they took a 9-5 lead over the Bulls. Back-to-back points for the Huskies gave them a five-point advantage at 12-7 as the teams traded points near the middle of the set. Buffalo went on a 9-2 run late to take the lead at 17-20. Nedic recorded a trio of kills as the Huskies embarked on a 5-1 run, taking the lead back at 22-21 as Buffalo called their second timeout of the set. Extra points would be needed to decide the winner of the set as Buffalo would hold out for a 29-27 victory.

Huskie Highlights

•      Grevengoed and Nedic's seven kill each mark the fifth time two or more athletes have led the Huskies in kills this season.
•      Atiemo is 15 kills away from reaching 1,000 career-kills after getting six in tonight's contest.  
•      The Huskies have recorded three aces four times this season with all games featuring multiple aces.

The Huskies will conclude action in Buffalo on November 2. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT. at Alumni Arena.