EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Splitting action on the opening day of the season, the Northern Illinois University Huskies fell in a five-set match to the Eastern Michigan University Eagles (1-0) before sweeping the Racers of Murray State University (0-2).
The Huskies and Eagles had set scores of 24-26, 25-16, 18-25, 25-23, 13-15. Against the Racers, NIU posted set scores of 25-21, 25-22, 25-16.
Katie Pahl (Perrysburg, Ohio/Perrysburg) recorded four service aces in her debut while
Autumn Flynn (Luxemburg, Wis./Luxemburg-Casco) led the way with 18 kills. Four Huskies recorded double-digit kills in the contest.
Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West) recorded a career-best four blocks while
Kylie Schulze (Wonder Lake, Ill./Woodstock North) claimed her seventh career double-double.
Pahl led the Huskies in kills in the second game of the day, recording 12 against Murray State.
"I was really encouraged by our fight. We had opportunities where we could have let the match get away from us, but we continued to compete and find ways to stay in in," noted head coach
Sondra D'Amore. "We talked a lot about 'respond>react' and I thought our team did that really well. We didn't carry the disappointment of the first match into the second one."
Charlotte Gramzow (Royal Oak, Mich./Lutheran Northwestern) and Pahl made their debuts for the Huskies against Eastern Michigan.
Eastern Michigan Recap (NIU 2, EMU 3)
A back-and-forth battle early, Pahl started the Huskies on a 5-2 run to give NIU a 10-7 lead. Eastern Michigan fought back to tie the set at 12 before Pahl sparked a 6-1 run for the Huskies, featuring a trio of aces. Grevengoed connected with Schulze to force extra points, but the Eagles held on for a 26-24 win.
Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis./Randolph), who recorded a career-best 14 kills in the match, put away a set from Schulze as NIU opened the second set with a 5-0 run. Grevengoed and Flynn teamed up for a block to push the Huskies' lead to seven before Schulze and Alvin combined for another block, making it 15-6. Alvin ended a 4-1 run by the Eagles with her sixth kill of the match, securing the second-set victory for the Huskies.
A pair of back-to-back aces by Pahl highlighted a 5-1 run by the Huskies early in the third set as NIU took an 8-5 lead over Eastern Michigan. A kill by Flynn sparked a 7-2 run by NIU, which featured a pair of kills by Pahl. Eastern Michigan responded with a 9-1 run to tie the set at 17 before taking the lead late. Grevengoed recorded the final kill for the Huskies, but Eastern Michigan took the third set, 25-18.
Alvin answered an opening kill by the Eagles with back-to-back kills and a block to help NIU take an early lead in the fourth set. The Huskies took advantage of a series of Eastern Michigan errors as Flynn helped build an 8-4 advantage. Moments later, another kill by Flynn sparked a 5-2 run and forced an Eastern Michigan timeout with NIU leading 15-10. The Eagles fought back to within one at 17-16 before Flynn sparked another 4-1 run for the Huskies. Alvin's kill put NIU at set point before Flynn secured the fourth-set victory off a set from Schulze.
Alvin and Flynn recorded kills in the opening points of the fifth set as the teams battled back and forth. A 4-0 run near the midway point brought NIU within one at 11-10 before Grevengoed tied the set at 13. Eastern Michigan recorded a block for the final point as the Huskies fell, 15-13.
Murray State Recap (NIU 3, MSU 0)
Alvin recorded NIU's first kill as each team committed a service error in the opening points of the match. Murray State controlled much of the opening set, using a 9-3 run to take an 11-8 lead. The Huskies battled back to tie the set at 11 on a block from Pahl and Alvin before the Racers answered with a 4-1 run. A Murray State service error opened the door for NIU, as Gramzow followed with a service ace and Flynn added a pair of kills to put the Huskies back in front. In a back-and-forth finish, Alvin and Pahl combined for five kills as NIU closed out the opening set, 25-21.
Pahl, who led the team with 12 kills, opened the second set with a kill before
Delaney Steers (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) followed with an ace. Murray State battled back to take an 8-6 lead after scoring four straight points. Pahl capitalized on a set from Alvin to spark a 6-1 run for the Huskies. The second set continued to be a battle as the Racers scored five consecutive points before the teams tied at 21. Grevengoed, who recorded seven kills in the match, put the Huskies ahead 23-21 before a Pahl ace secured the set, 25-22.
Murray State scored the opening two points of the third set before Steers answered with back-to-back points for NIU. Pahl connected with Schulze for a kill as the Huskies jumped out to an 11-4 lead. Maintaining their advantage, NIU saw Pahl, Steers and
Naomi Dowd (Aurora, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) record kills throughout the middle of the set. A kill by Flynn put the Huskies at 20 before Dowd and Alvin combined for the final three kills of the night, securing a 25-16 victory for NIU.
The Huskies wrap up the first weekend of the season, taking on Southern Indiana on August 29 at 2 p.m.
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