INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.— The Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team battled the IU Indy Jaguars in a four-set match Friday night (Nov. 6). The Huskies (8-15, 2-11 Horizon) dropped the match by set scores of 19-25, 15-25, 25-18 and 21-25 to the Jaguars (12-15, 7-7 Horizon).
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) and
Katie Pahl (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) paced the Huskies with nine kills apiece. Pahl also led NIU with two service aces, while
Autumn Flynn (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) contributed eight kills and a team-high three blocks.
"We got off to a slow start against a good team, but we responded well," said
Sondra D'Amore, NIU head coach. "We had that fourth set within reach until a long rally shifted the momentum. I'm proud of how the team responded in the third and fourth sets. It's been a tough season with a lot of adversity."
The teams traded points early in the first set, with three Huskies recording kills.
Autumn Flynn recorded her first ace of the night to give NIU a 12-10 lead before the Jaguars scored four straight points. IU Indy extended its lead to eight at 21-13 before the Huskies scored three consecutive points, including a solo block by
Charizma Lofton (Gainesville, Va./Gainesville). However, IU Indy held off the late NIU rally to take the first set, 25-19.
Pahl and Flynn recorded the first two kills of the second set as NIU opened with a 4-1 run. The Jaguars responded to tie the set at six before taking the lead. Lofton added a kill, but IU Indy scored three straight points to extend its advantage. Pahl recorded back-to-back kills to bring NIU within one at 11-10 before a 4-1 Jaguars run sent the match to the media timeout. Flynn added a kill out of the timeout, but the Huskie offense continued to struggle at the net. IU Indy closed the set on a 7-2 run to win, 25-15.
Flynn recorded the first kill of the third set before a kill by
Naomi Dowd (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) tied the score at six. Pahl added back-to-back kills to spark a 5-2 run and give the Huskies an 11-8 lead. IU Indy pulled within one at 11-10 before Grevengoed recorded a kill to make it 14-11.
Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) added a kill during a 9-4 NIU run, with her second kill of the stretch putting the Huskies at set point. A service error by IU Indy secured the third set for NIU, 25-21.
Grevengoed opened the fourth set with a kill before a block by Alvin and Dowd tied the score at three. The teams traded points, with three ties before back-to-back kills by Grevengoed sparked a 5-1 NIU run and gave the Huskies a 12-8 lead. IU Indy responded with a 9-5 run to tie the set at 17 with kills by Pahl and Flynn accounted for the final two ties of the match. Grevengoed recorded the final NIU kill at 22-20, but the Jaguars closed out the set, 25-21.
The Huskies are back in action on Nov. 7 as they travel to Purdue Fort Wayne. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT against the Mastodons.
Never miss a minute of NIU Volleyball by following us on Twitter/X at
@NIUVolleyball, on Facebook at
NIU Volleyball, and on Instagram at
@NIUVolley.
