DeKALB, Ill.—Three Huskies had double-digit kill performances as the Northern Illinois University Huskies fell in four sets to the Norse of Northern Kentucky University. The Huskies (7-8, 1-4 Horizon) posted set scores of 25-27, 19-25, 25-22, 21-25 against the Norse (10-6, 5-0 Horizon)
Just a week after recording her first career double-double,
Delaney Steers (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) added her second with 14 kills and 17 digs. Steers added a career best 5 blocks on her night in addition to the career best 14 kills.
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) added her third straight double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs on the night.
"The bounce back in set 3; I think we did a nice job of coming back after losing two sets close. It's something this team hasn't done yet this year so I'm proud of them for fighting back in every set, but especially the third," said NIU head coach
Sondra D'Amore. "Third sets can turn a match around and they are a good team. I think we are a strong serve-pass side of the game, we have a lot of weapons at the net. I think our biggest area of improvement is executing it more."
Game Recap
Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) was involved in NIU's first two points of the night, teaming up with Steers for a block before recording the Huskies' first kill. Steers added a kill to give NIU an early 5-2 lead. After the teams traded points, two attacking errors by the Norse helped the Huskies score four straight points. The Norse responded, building a 17-12 lead.
Katie Pahl (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) sparked an 11-3 run for the Huskies, which ended with a Grevengoed kill. Grevengoed and Alvin brought NIU to set point twice, but the Norse scored the final three points to win the first set, 27-25.
Steers recorded NIU's first kill of the second set as the Norse jumped out to a 7-1 lead. The Huskies continued to struggle offensively as the Norse extended their advantage to eight.
Autumn Flynn (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) then recorded consecutive points with a kill and a service ace. Trailing by nine, the Huskies got a pair of kills and a block from Steers to spark a 7-1 run late in the set. Alvin recorded NIU's final kill, but the comeback fell short as the Norse won the set, 25-19.
Pahl and Alvin teamed up for NIU's first block of the third set as the Huskies and Norse battled through nine ties. A Flynn kill and a solo block by Grevengoed sparked a 4-2 run late in the set. Grevengoed followed with consecutive kills before
Viktoria Djukic (Podgorica, Montenegro) recorded three straight service aces, a career best, to give NIU a 20-17 lead. Four different Huskies recorded kills down the stretch as NIU won the set, 25-22.
Pahl recorded NIU's first kill of the fourth set as the Norse jumped out to a 6-2 lead. Steers added two kills as the Huskies fought back to pull within one at 7-6. The Norse then went on a 7-4 run before the media timeout. Flynn recorded a kill coming out of the timeout, and Pahl added a service ace. The Huskies continued to battle, pulling within two on late kills from Steers and Pahl, but the Norse held on to win the set, 25-21.
NIU continues action against the Norse on Oct. 10 at 2 p.m. in Victor E. Court. To purchase tickets, please click
here or call the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
Stay up-to-date with all things NIU Volleyball by following us on Twitter/X at
@NIUVolleyball, on Facebook at
NIU Volleyball, and on Instagram at
@NIUVolley.
