EVANSTON, Ill.—In a midweek regional match, the Northern Illinois University Huskies (2-7) fell to the Northwestern University Wildcats (1-6) at Welsh-Ryan Arena on the Northwestern campus.  
 
The Huskies posted set scores of 16-25, 18-25, and 18-25 as they were swept for the first time this season.
 
"They pushed us with their serve all night, but especially in those first ten points. I thought we were able to work ourselves back into the match in sets two and three," said NIU head coach Sondra D'Amore. "Northwestern is a very different team than what we've seen all year. We figured out how to use their block more toward the end which was a focus for us and will be on Friday."
 
Game Recap
 
Northwestern opened the game on a 7-0 run before Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) got the first kills of the evening for the Huskies. Northwestern offense continued to build on their lead, extending the lead to nine at 12-3. The Huskies went on a 5-1 run late in the set, which saw back-to-back kills from Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) to trim the deficit to seven at 16-23. The Wildcats claimed the final two points of the set to take a 1-0 lead over the Huskies.
 
Nedic and Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) teamed up for a block as the Huskies and Wildcats traded points to start the second set. After taking a two-point advantage, Atiemo recorded her first kill of the evening to make it 6-5. The Wildcats built their lead out to five on attacking errors by the Huskie offense. Atiemo and Grevengoed recorded consecutive kills to bring the Huskies within three at 17-14. The Huskies had nine kills in the second set as Northwestern took a 2-0 lead over the Huskies.  
 
Led by Atiemo and Grevengoed, the Huskies went on a 3-0 lead to take their first lead of the evening at 3-2. Northwestern tallied a pair of errors as NIU went up 5-3 early in the third set. Northwestern had seven unanswered points to take a 10-5 lead over the Huskies as NIU tallied several attacking errors. Nedic recorded a trio of kills in the closing points for the Huskies as the NIU defense was unable to find an answer against Northwestern.
 
Huskie Highlights
 

• Sydney Robinson (Indianapolis, Ind./Brebeuf Jesuit) made her first appearance of the season for the Huskies, claiming a dig in the contest.
• Grevengoed led the Huskies with 10 kills, her seventh double-digit kill game of the season.
• Grevengoed had the lone pair of service aces for the Huskies, marking her seventh game with an ace and sixth with two or more.

The Huskies conclude the non-conference slate on Friday, Sept. 20 as they host Northwestern in the NIU Convocation Center. First serve is set for 6 p.m. as the Huskies celebrate alumni night and 125 years of NIU Athletics.