DeKALB, Ill.—Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) surpassed the 1,000 career-kill mark this evening (November 8) as the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team battled against the Falcons of Bowling Green State University.
 
The Huskies (3-22, 1-14 MAC) forced extra points in two sets as the three-set match featured scores of 24-26, 21-25, 24-26 against the Falcons (18-8, 13-2).
 
Atiemo was three kills shy of the milestone mark heading into the match and became the 23rd Huskie to achieve this mark.
 
"We shut down one of their best attackers and we got good touches on the ball in transition to keep us in the game," said NIU head coach Sondra D'Amore. "When we were serving tough, we were keeping a ton of pressure on them. The serve and pass piece is a huge part of success. All I can ask of the team is to continue to give it their all and they are continuing to compete with some tough teams. We've got to clean up a couple things but I'm proud of the team for constantly adapting."
 
Game Recap
 
Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) grabbed a pair of early kills for the Huskies as the teams battled early. There were eight tie scores in the early part of the first set before the Falcons scored three straight points to make it 12-10. Nedic and Atiemo answered with kills to tie the game at 12 as neither team was able to create a lead larger than two points through the middle of the set. Bowling Green nabbed their fourth block of the first set to take a five-point lead at 16-21 as Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) ended a 6-0 run. Leading off with a Nedic kill, the Huskies quickly tied the game at 23 late on a block from Nazli Güvener (Ankara, Turkey/Elvankent Sinar) and Atiemo. Ella Strausberger (Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield North) put the Huskies at set point with her second service ace on the night before the Falcons ended the set with three straight points.
 
As the Huskies took a 6-3 lead to start the second set, Güvener was credited with three kills for the Huskies. Güvener connected on a pass from Strausberger to give the Huskes their final lead of the set at 7-6. A Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) kill ended a 6-0 Falcon run as Grevengoed recorded the next kill for NIU at 12-15. Savanah Brandt (Pearl City, Ill/Pearl City) marked her second kill of the set to bring NIU with in two as Alvin recorded consecutive kills late for the Huskies.
 
Heading into the final set, Nedic and Güvener recorded back-to-back kills for NIU with a 3-1 lead. The Falcons and Huskies tied the set four times in the opening points as a block from Alvin and Nedic opened the Huskies up to a 10-8 lead. Atiemo marked her fifth kill on the night as the Huskies took a six-point advantage and force Bowling Green to use a timeout. Bowling Green strung together four consecutive points before Atiemo started the Huskies on a 5-1 run. Back-to-back aces from the Falcons brought the game within one as a Falcon blocked tied the set at 20. Grevengoed and Nedic recorded a pair of kills each as the Falcons swept the Huskies.
 
Huskie Highlights

• Güvener led the Huskies with 10 kills this evening, marking her seventh game this season to lead NIU.
• Strausberger led the Huskies with three service aces as Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) added the remaining two aces for the Huskies.
• NIU recorded 45 total kills in the contest and held Bowling Green to just 44 kills.

The Huskies will complete the series with Bowling Green on November 9 for Senior Day. First serve is set for 4 p.m. inside Victor E. Court with a pre-game recognition for the senior class.