Spurred on by a raucous crowd of over 1,400, the Northern Illinois University volleyball team took the first set against Illinois on Saturday night (Aug. 26) before the Fighting Illini rallied for a four-set victory, 22-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-21, inside the NIU Convocation Center. Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) tallied a team-high 14 kills while Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) recorded a dozen.
“There were a lot of positives to take away from tonight, especially after yesterday,” said NIU head coach Sondra Parys. “They came out really focused and determined, and that showed it our play. They fought, they competed, we had a lot of leads, every set was pushing to 20. I think we had an opportunity to win the match, it wasn’t meant to happen tonight, but I thought it was a huge step in the right direction for the team and they should be proud of themselves.”
Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumpton) posted 14 digs for the Huskies while Katie Erdmann (Forreston, Ill./Forreston) added 12.
Illinois (1-0) led the first set, 17-13, before the Huskies rallied to draw even at 19 on a kill by Atiemo. Knotted at 21, a kill from Isabelle Percoco (Charlotte, N.C./South Mecklenburg), a kill from Atiemo and an ace from Sophie Hurt (Elmhurst, Ill./IC Catholic Prep) brought the Huskies within a point of the set, 24-21. Two points later, an Illinois error gave the opening set to the Huskies, 25-22.
Despite six kills from Nedic in the second set, hitting .429, the Fighting Illini pulled even. Illinois had a match-high 75 percent side out percentage in the set as the visitors slowly built a lead. Sarah Bingham tallied five kills in the set for Illinois.
Tied at 10 in the third set, Illinois used a four-point burst to take a 14-10 advantage. NIU would cut the Fighting Illini lead back to just a pair, at 24-22, with a three-point run that was capped by a kill from Atiemo, but Bingham finished the set with her fifth kill of the set to give Illinois a 2-1 advantage.
NIU (0-2) jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the fourth set and the Huskies led 13-7 before a 7-0 run by Illinois pushed the visitors in front, 14-13. NIU responded to lead by a pair before Illinois drew back even at 20 on a kill from Raina Terry that sparked a 4-0 burst for the Fighting Illinois as they took a 23-20 lead, going on to take the final set, 25-21. Illinois hit .342 as a team in the set with 17 kills.
Terry finished with a match-high 19 kills on 54 swings. Brooke Mosher had 40 assists for Illinois while Lily Barry tallied 27 digs.
“(It was) absolutely amazing,” Parys said of the atmosphere in the Convocation Center. “There was one point during the fourth set, during a challenge, where one of my athletes looked at us and said, ‘look around and take this in.’ It meant a lot to them, it meant a lot to me, to have that fan support. I definitely think the crowd and the environment played into how we competed. We hope they come back and support us more. It was awesome, it is something we will definitely remember.”
As announced earlier on Saturday, NIU will be back in action at home on Sunday, Aug. 27, as the Huskies host Chicago State at 6 p.m. Admission to Sunday’s match is free of charge for all fans.