DEKALB, Ill. (Aug. 29, 2008) – Junior Meagan Schoenrock posted a match-high 15 kills in leading host Northern Illinois (1-0) to a 3-0 (25-13, 25-17, 25-18) victory over Chicago State (0-1) in the 2008 season opener for both teams in the NIU Invite I at Victor E. Court.
Sophomore Hope Lockett (St. Paul, MN/Central) (St. Paul, Minn.) paced the Cougars in her first collegiate match with eight kills, while redshirt junior Shamara Clark (Bloomington, IN/South) (Bloomington, Ind.) nearly tallied a double-double with a match-best nine digs and seven kills. Junior Jean Keenan (/) (Braidwood, Ill.) recorded eight digs, junior Chy Crichton (The Dalles, OR/Mt. Hood CC) (The Dalles, Ore.) posted 10 assists and six digs, and junior Niena Posey (Chicago, IL/Lincoln College) (Chicago, Ill.) notched three blocks.
The Cougars rebounded from an early 3-1 deficit in the first set with a 4-0 run that concluded with a service ace from Lockett. CSU increased its advantage to 8-5 after kills from sophomore Hanya Minta (Eden Prairie, MN/Eden Prairie) (Eden Prairie, Minn.) and. NIU responded with a 20-5 run, led by four kills from Schoenrock and junior Cassie Yates, to capture a 1-0 lead.
In the second set, the visitors rallied for a 4-2 lead on consecutive kills from Clark. The Huskies then managed to pull away as they scored 16 of the next 25 points en route to posting an 18-12 leading margin. Chicago State bounced back with a 4-1 scoring run to close NIU's lead to 19-16 thanks to a kill by Crichton. The home team finished the stanza with a 6-1 run of its own to go into the break with a two-set advantage.
Both teams battled early to a 4-4 tie in the beginning of the third set before NIU tallied a 14-8 scoring run which culminated with a solo block from senior Irene Johnson to post an 18-12 lead. The Huskies later scored seven of the set's final 13 points to close the match.
Yates contributed 10 kills for NIU, while junior Amanda Tadla recorded a match-high 25 assists. Freshman Alison McLaughlin notched seven kills with a .538 hitting percentage and Johnson finished with six kills and three blocks, including two solo stuffs.
The Cougars are back in action tomorrow with a pair of matches to close the NIU Invite I against Connecticut at 11 a.m. and Cleveland State in the finale at 5 p.m.
~CSU~
