Sept. 2, 2012

NIU-PSU Final Stats

NIU-Pacific Final Stats

Final: PSU 3, NIU 0

Final: Pacific 3, NIU 0

Stockton, Calif. - The Northern Illinois volleyball team wrapped up the Community Bankers Classic with a third-place finish after falling 3-0 to both Portland State (2-3) and Pacific (6-0) Saturday at Alex G Spanos Center.

The Huskies (3-4) started out the day with a 25-13, 25-19, 25-11 loss to Portland State. The Vikings posted a 51-29 kills advantage and hit .325, while holding NIU down to a .113 rate. The Viking defense was stout as well with a 65-53 digs advantage and 6-2 blocks edge.

Senior outside hitter Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valaparaiso) led NIU with nine kills, while freshman setter Alexis Gonzalez posted a double-double with 19 assists and 10 digs.

In the night cap and tourney finale, Pacific played similarly to PSU for a 25-15, 25-9, 25-21 win. The Tigers racked up a 39-25 kills and .239 to .017 hitting advantages. They also served up six aces and were not aced at all by NIU. Just like the Vikings, Pacific held a 6-2 blocks advantage.

Romo again led the Huskies with nine kills.

Overall for the tournament, the Huskies took third as host Pacific won the classic, PSU took second and Nevada fourth. In a rare occurrence, the tournament saw 3-0 sweeps in all matches for the first time since 1999 and fourth time in the 34 year history of the event.

With a 2.44 kills per set average, .267 hitting percentage, five blocks, and 25.0 points for the weekend, junior middle blocker Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) earned an all-tournament selection.

NIU is in the midst of a 14-match road trip over a span of just 23 days. Representing 42 percent of the schedule, the excursion continues Tuesday, Sept. 4, in Chicago as the Huskies will face Illinois Chicago at 7 PM CT.