DEKALB, Ill. – After a back-and-forth battle, the Miami University volleyball team took the final two sets as it defeated Northern Illinois, 3-2 (21-25, 25-17, 23-25, 25-18, 15-7) on the road Saturday evening. The RedHawks improve to 9-8 overall and 4-2 in the Mid-American Conference. The Huskies are 6-14 overall and 3-3 in the MAC.

"We value road wins and how difficult they are to earn," said head coach Carolyn Condit. "NIU did not disappoint us and made us work for everything. I am so proud of our team for improving throughout the match in a tough environment. Resilience, grit and teamwork all come to mind."

Miami put down 63 kills for the match, hitting .213 and recorded 75 digs. The 'Hawks forced NIU into 35 hitting errors and held it to a .091 attack percentage for the match. Junior libero Abigail Huser led the Miami defense with a season-high 25 digs.

The offense was very balanced, but was led by senior middle hitter Margaret Payne and sophomore outside hitter Gaby Harper. They tied for the team lead with 15 kills apiece. Payne only had two attack errors in 24 attempts for a .542 hitting percentage. Harper, who came up big in the final two sets of the comeback, made it a double-double with 13 digs.

Miami fell behind 4-7 to begin set one. Two kills from Harper off assists from sophomore setter Louise Comerford, along with a pair of blocks by junior right side hitter Avarie Powell were part of six straight for the RedHawks they gave them a 10-7 lead. Kills from senior outside hitter Taylor Daignault and junior right side hitter Sarah Wojick, along with several Huskie attack errors gave Miami its largest lead at 17-11. NIU answered with a 9-2 run to regain the advantage at 20-19. A kill by senior middle hitter Haley Stewart retied the score at 20, but the Huskies grabbed five of the next six points to earn a 25-21 victory.

Two blocks and a kill for Payne helped Miami jump to a 7-2 lead to begin set two. Two more kills from Powell, along with kills from Stewart and Wojick increased the advantage to 14-6. A 5-1 run by Northern Illinois cut its deficit to four, but a pair of kills from Daignault were part of an 8-4 run that put the RedHawks in control at 23-15. One final kill from Daignault off an assist from junior setter Morgan Seaman finished off the 25-17 win.

Tied at seven in set three, a 5-2 run by Northern Illinois put it on top, 12-9. A kill from Payne and a service ace by Wojick pulled Miami within one, but NIU was able to maintain a small advantage, eventually making it 20-16. Back-to-back kills from Payne got it to 18-20 and forced a Husky timeout; and out of the break Northern Illinois scored the next two to go back up by four. The RedHawks did not give up as kills from Payne and Powell, along with the two of them teaming up on a block cut the deficit to one at 22-23. NIU scored next to get set point, but another kill from Powell fought it off. The Huskies though put down a final kill to grab a 25-23 victory.

A pair of kills from Powell and a service ace by Comerford helped the Red and White to a 9-5 lead to begin set four. Harper began to take over, putting down two more kills to increase the advantage to six at 17-11. NIU cut the deficit to five a 14-19, but a kill from Daignault would not let it get any closer. Leading 22-17, two more kills from Harper finished off a 25-18 win and sent the match to a decisive fifth set.

The teams traded the first six points of set five. At that point two kills from Harper and one from Payne were part of six straight for Miami that put it in complete control at 9-3. The Huskies got as close as 6-11, but a kill from Stewart and a service ace by Harper put any thought of a comeback out of mind. A kill from Daignault and a NIU attack error finished off a 15-7 victory and gave the RedHawks a 3-2 win in the match.

Powell had 11 kills and a team-high six blocks for Miami. Daignault and Wojick recorded eight kills each. Daignault also had 17 digs and four blocks, while Wojick contributed five blocks. Comerford and Seaman tied for the RedHawk team lead in assists with 28 each.

Miami returns home for a pair of matches during next week's Family Weekend. On Friday, the RedHawks host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. That contest will stream live on Miami All-Access for those who have a subscription. Miami will then take on Central Michigan on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. That match will air live on ESPN+.