Saturday’s volleyball game between MAC opponents NIU and Miami-Ohio came down to runs.

In the first game, NIU limited the Redhawks’ runs, but the rest of the match was a different story as the Huskies fell 3-1 at Victor E. Court.
The loss marks the end of a four-match homestead for NIU in which it lost all four to drop to 11-15 on the season and 5-7 in the MAC. Miami-Ohio continues its success and is now 13-8, 10-2 on the season.

“Unfortunately, it was a roller-coaster ride tonight,” NIU coach Ray Gooden said. “We played solid in Game 1 and maintained when we needed to. In the rest of the games though, we were riding too many lows and highs to win games.“
In Game 1, Miami’s biggest run was 3-0, however in Games 2 and 3, the Redhawks used multiple runs of five points or greater to bury the Huskies in too deep of a hole.

“It’s part leadership, part experience,” Gooden said. “We don’t have a player that can end those runs so it’s up to the whole team.”

Game 4 remained close and NIU led as late as 27-26 before giving up four straight points to lose 27-30.

Senior outside-hitter Laura Baetzel kept the Huskies close in that game with several big plays near the end. She finished with a team-high 21 kills.
Junior Irene Johnson also played well, going for 11 kills and nine digs.
“It’s frustrating,” Johnson said. “This is a rough slump for us right now. Everything has been falling apart for us and we need to learn to capitalize where we can and take advantage of every opportunity.”

Miami junior Emily Schroeder led all attackers with 22 kills. She also added 10 digs on the night.

NIU continues its struggles at home. The Huskies are just 2-10 playing on Victor E. Court, while they are 9-5 on the road.

Just four matches remain for NIU before the MAC Tournament begins.

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