AKRON, Ohio—Marking their first back-to-back five-set games since September, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team (10-9, 3-7 MAC) fell in five sets to the Zips of Akron (10-11, 3-7 MAC) this evening. The Huskies and Zips posted set scores of 20-25, 25-19, 18-25, 25-14, and 9-15 in the contest.
 
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) recorded her eighth double-double of the season as she led the Huskies with 16 kills and added 10 digs.
 
Emma McCartney (Cleveland, Ohio/Chadron) and Delaney Steers (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) set new career marks while Kylie Schuzle (Wonder Lake, Ill./Woodstock North) matched a career-best in tonight's contest. McCartney set a new career-best in service aces with five, while Steers recorded 29 digs for a new best. Schulze matched her career best in kills with three.
 
"We have to play smarter in the fifth. They know how to win, and we have to remember that," said head coach Sondra D'Amore.
 
How It Happened
 
The Zips jumped out to a six-point lead early in the first before Grevengoed trimmed the lead, 8-4. A service error by the Zips sparked five unanswered points for the Huskies, with Naomi Dowd (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) adding two kills, as NIU trimmed their lead to three at 15-12. The Huskies and Zips matched point-for-point in the closing points of the first set as Akron took set one 25-20.
 
Dowd had the second kill of set two while McCartney had a block in the following point to tie the set at three. A Grevengoed kill ended a 5-0 Akron run as the Huskies embarked on a 9-4 run to tie the game at 12. Autumn Flynn (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) had the lone Huskie kill as the Zips built their lead back out to three at 16-13. McCartney was two of five Huskies to record a kill and a service ace as the Huskies took the second set on a 12-3 run.
 
Grevengoed and McCartney had the first kills of the third set for the Huskies before Akron went on a 6-2 run early in the set. Akron found their offensive spark in the third set, going on an 11-6 run, which featured three kills by the Huskies. Trailing late in the set, NIU went on an 8-5 run before Akron took a 2-1 lead.
 
Heading into the fourth set, McCartney, Dowd, and Schulze all recorded kills as the set featured 11 tie scores and seven lead changes. The teams traded points up to the media timeout midway through the set with Grevengoed and McCartney recording five of the Huskies eight kills during that stretch. Following the timeout, the Huskies did not allow a single point from Akron and took the fourth set, 25-14.
 
McCartney had the first kill of the fifth and final set for the Huskies as the Zips took a 6-1 lead to start the set. A Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) kill started a 5-3 run for the Huskies as Flynn and Dowd had the final kills of the night for the Huskies. Akron grabbed the final two points and handed NIU their fifth straight loss.
 
The Huskies conclude their series against the Zips on October 25. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CT/4 p.m. ET with the game broadcast live on ESPN+.
 
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