BUFFALO, NY—Several members of the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team saw season or career bests as the Huskies (3-20, 1-12 MAC) fell in four sets to the Bulls of the University at Buffalo (14-13, 10-4 MAC). The match featured set scores of 20-25, 30-32, 25-17, and 15-25.
 
Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) grabbed three aces in the first set as she went on to set a new career-best. Hoffmeier had five aces in the match to
 
Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) surpassed her season-best in kills as she led the Huskies with 17 kills.
 
The Huskies 12 service aces were the most the team has had this season as they had previously recorded 10 aces against Milwaukee (9/1) and Tarleton State (9/6).
 
"Serving that tough is always a goal. It kept us in the match and the team was very intentional about hitting their zones," said NIU head coach Sondra D'Amore. "We got better as a team today. To respond after (sets) 1 and 2, the way we did in (set) 3 means we have a lot of fight and passion to win. I loved seeing the resiliency today."
 
Game Recap
 
Ella Strausberger (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) opened the set with a service ace as the Bulls responded with back-to-back points. Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) and Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill./Pearl City) had consecutive kills as the Huskies went on a 4-1 run to lead 6-3. Buffalo responded with 7-0 run as Rylea Alvin ended the run with a kill. Hoffmeier had three service aces within four points as the Huskies took the lead back at 15-12. The teams would battle back-and-forth before tying the set at 17. Buffalo would outlast the Huskies in the first set, taking the first set 25-20.  
 
Brandt and Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) combined for a block as Buffalo opened the second set on a 4-1 run. Atiemo claimed her first kill of the afternoon before grabbing her first ace to tie the set at four. Nedic, who recorded six kills in the set, grabbed two early kills as the teams battled at the net. The Bulls went on a 6-2 run to take a 15-12 lead over the Huskies before recording a service error. Nedic recorded three kills before Hoffmeier stepped up to the service line as the Huskies took a 21-17 lead late. Buffalo responded to tie the game at 21 as Grevengoed ended a 4-0 run by the Bulls. The Huskies and Bulls found set point several times as extra points were needed to determine the winner in the second set.
 
Emma McCartney (Chardon, Ohio/Chardon) had two of the three early Huskie kills and an ace as the teams started the third set. After the teams tied the game at ten, the Huskies went on an 11-3 run which featured service aces from Atiemo, Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep), and McCartney. NIU's offense was clicking as they recorded 15 kills, five aces and a hitting percentage of .419 in the third set to claim their first set victory in five matches.
 
Mirroring the third set, McCartney had two early kills for the Huskies as the Bulls took an early 8-4 lead. Nedic recorded a pair of kills and a block as the Bulls went on a 7-4 run for a 15-8 lead. Atiemo grabbed her sixth kill of the match as the Bulls built their lead to ten at 19-9. Nedic had three of the four final kills of the afternoon for the Huskies as they could not catch the Bulls in the fourth set.
 
Huskie Highlights

• NIU recorded a hitting percentage of .226 in the match. That is their third highest hitting percentage this season.
• Atiemo tallied three aces in the contest as she has had four games with three or more aces this season.
• Atiemo added six kills in the contest as she is nine kills away from the 1,000-career kill mark.  
• Alvin led the Huskie blocking efforts with four block assists.  
• Grevengoed marked her 10th double-double this season with 11 kills and 11 digs.

 
The Huskies will host their final homestand, beginning on November 5 as they host Western Michigan. The Huskies and Broncos will have first serve at 6 p.m. CT inside Victor E. Court.