MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - After earning an important win last night over Eastern Michigan, the Northern Illinois volleyball team could not do the same on Saturday night against Central Michigan in the final Mid-American Conference match of the regular season, as the Huskies fell in three sets at the Rose Center.
"The biggest difference was we were able to capitalize on Friday and we weren't able to capitalize tonight," said NIU coach Ray Gooden.
NIU (14-15, 8-8 MAC) started slow in the first set and had to call a timeout, down 13-8, after a kill by Kaitlyn Hurt. However, NIU was not able to regroup, as CMU (15-11, 8-8 MAC) opened a 17-11 lead following a kill from Lauren Krupsky that helped the Chippewas take the set, 25-17.
"They took it to us in the first set," Gooden said. "They were at a high level in all phases of the game."
In the second set, the Huskies narrowly led for a majority of the way, but CMU tied the score, 18-18, after a Val DeWeerd kill. Eight lead changes and four set-points later, the score was tied again, 27-27, after a kill from NIU sophomore Allison McGlaughlin. Then CMU went up again after another DeWeerd kill, and finally ended the set, 29-27, on the next sequence on a Krupsky put-away.
After the break, the teams exchanged points in the third set until senior Cassie Yates put the Huskies up 16-14, and following a Krupsky attack error, the Chippewas took a timeout that helped them refocus. Hurt tallied a kill on the next play, Yates had an attack error and Krupsky notched a kill to force the Huskies to take a timeout with the score tied, 17-17. The teams then exchange points again until an attack error by NIU freshman Mary Kurisch gave CMU a 23-21 advantage, causing NIU to take another timeout. The Huskies came right back to tie the score after a McGlaughlin kill and a DeWeerd error. Hurt then gave the Chippewas a chance for match-point with a kill, but Yates and sophomore Kristin Hoffman teamed up for a block to keep NIU alive. Then a DeWeerd attack error gave NIU a chance for set-point, but after a CMU timeout, McGlaughlin's serve hit the net. Hurt followed with a kill on the next play and Krupsky backed it up with another kill to end the match, 27-25.
"We just didn't take advantage of our opportunities tonight," said Gooden.
Senior Meagan Schoenrock led the Huskies with 11 kills, while Hoffman notched her fifth double-double with 29 assists and 10 digs.
On defense, junior Maddie Hughes led NIU with 17 digs. Two other Huskies had double-digit digs, as McGlaughlin had 11 and senior Monica Lang had 10. Additionally, Yates tied a season-high with six blocks.
Despite losing the chance to take the fourth seed outright in the MAC Tournament and falling back into a three-way tie with Toledo and CMU, the Huskies were awarded the fourth spot based on tiebreaker rules. The Huskies will then return to action on Friday at 10 a.m. (CDT) to face the winner of the No. 5 Central Michigan-No. 12 Eastern Michigan match at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio.
"As crazy as the MAC season has been for everyone, one of our team goals was to be a top-four seed going into the MAC Tournament," Gooden said. "It's nice for our team to be able to achieve that."
