DeLAND, Fl.—Led by 15 kills from Emma McCartney (Cleveland, Ohio/Chardon), the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball (2-1) defeated the Southern Miss Golden Eagles in a four-set battle at the Stetson Hatters Invitational. The Huskies posted set scores of 23-25, 25-20, 30-28, 25-23 to claim their second win of the season.
 
The Huskies have started 2-1 for the eighth time since the 2011 season. The Huskies pair of five-set matches followed by today's four-set match are the first time since 2012 that the Huskies have started with 14 sets of volleyball.
 
"The resiliency of this team was showed in a lot of tight sets and being able to close under pressure is a huge piece of our game that we've been focusing on," noted head coach Sondra D'Amore. "….This weekend was a huge confidence builder to see we're capable of doing it in live situations."
 
McCartney and Jordyn Tynsky (Denton, Tex./Denton-Guyer) raised their career-bests, with Tynsky recording 32 digs in today's contest.
 
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) marked her 16th career double-double and third straight with 13 kills and 10 digs. Kylie Schulze notched her second double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs.
 
Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph), Tynsky, and Grevengoed were named to the All-Tournament team as Grevengoed was named the MVP.
 
How It Happened
 
After battling early in the first set, the Golden Eagles went on a 12-4 run as they took a 15-9 over NIU. McCartney led the Huskies offensively with five kills while Tynsky grabbed six digs for the Huskies. NIU would battle back to tie the game at 19 as the Golden Eagles took set one with a 6-4 run.
 
Coming out firing in the second set, the Huskies took a 10-4 lead with a kill from Autumn Flynn (New Franken, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco). NIU kept the lead over the Golden Eagles with kills from Alvin, Grevengoed, Alexa Hayes (Magnolia, Tex./Magnolia West), and Grevengoed. The Golden Eagles battled back to tie the game at 20 before the Huskies ended the set with five straight points.
 
It would be a battle in the third set as Southern Miss went on a 5-0 run through the middle of the set to take a 17-13 lead over the Huskies. McCartney started the offensive attack for the Huskies, beginning an 11-5 run as NIU reached set point. The teams traded points back-and-forth in extra points as NIU went on a 4-1 run to win the set 30-28.
 
Three straight kills were how the Huskies started the fourth set as they took a 6-1 lead. Southern Miss would trim the NIU lead to two at 9-7 before Alvin started a 5-0 run for the Huskies. Southern Miss had six straight points before McCartney recorded a kill on a pass from Schulze. The game would be tied for the final time at 17 as Grevengoed started an 8-6 run. McCartney sealed the win for the Huskies with a kill as NIU won the set 25-23.
 
Up Next
 
The Huskies will open the season at home on September 5 and 6 as they host the NIU Invitational. First serve is set for 11 a.m. as the Huskies take on the Warriors of Merrimack.