FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Dropping their final road game of the regular season, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team fell in straight sets to the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons. The Huskies (8-16, 2-12 Horizon) put up scores of 18-25, 16-25, 14-25 against the Mastodons (14-13, 8-6 Horizon).
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) led the Huskies in kills for the ninth time this season, recording seven kills and adding 10 digs.
Katie Pahl (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) recorded the Huskies' first ace of the match before Grevengoed tallied the team's first kill. Grevengoed added her second ace of the opening set to even the score at 6-6. The teams traded points before an
Autumn Flynn (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) kill tied the set at 8-8. Flynn added two more kills early in the set, but Purdue Fort Wayne used a 9-4 run to take a 17-12 lead. Led by
Naomi Dowd (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley), the Huskies responded with a 4-0 run to pull within one at 17-16. Pahl recorded the final kill for NIU, but the Mastodons claimed the opening set, 25-18.
Pahl collected the first kill of the second set for the Huskies as Grevengoed's next two kills would tie the set at 4.
Charlotte Gramzow (Royal Oak, Mich./Lutheran Northwest) recorded NIU's third and final service ace, starting a 6-4 NIU run as they took a 13-12 lead. Purdue Fort Wayne responded with a 13-3 run to end the set, as Alvin and
Lilly Abney (Zionsville, Ind./Zionsville) recorded the lone kills for the Huskies.
Abney had the first two kills of the third set as the Mastodons opened on an 8-4 run. A kill by Flynn sparked an early 4-1 run by the Huskies as a
Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph) block put NIU within one at 9-8. The Huskies and Mastodons nearly matched point-for-point as a block by Flynn and Pahl made the score 13-12. Flynn and Pahl combined for a second block as the Mastodons took the third set 25-14.
The Huskies will finish the regular season with a pair of games at home as they host Oakland and Cleveland State on Nov. 12-13. The Huskies and Golden Grizzles of Oakland will have first serve at 6 p.m. on Nov. 12 inside Victor E. Court.
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