Oct. 19, 2009

DeKALB, Ill. - Northern Illinois volleyball junior Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North) garnered her third Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week award of the season Monday as she helped the Huskies go 2-0 over the weekend to earn their first two conference road wins of the season and extend their winning streak to five matches.

"We are proud of Maddie's individual accolade this week," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "Her individual performance has been a major cog in our teams' recent success."

In eight sets, the NIU libero totaled 42 digs (5.25/set) and had no errors in 34 reception attempts. In NIU's 3-1 win at Buffalo, she had 24 digs and no errors in 20 reception attempts. In NIU's 3-1 win at Akron, she had 18 digs and no errors in 14 reception attempts. She has now totaled double-figure digs in all but two matches and has had 20 or more digs in five of her last seven matches. Hughes also leads the conference with 4.96 digs per set (387) and has been even better in league play with an average of 5.45 digs per set (180).

Hughes and the Huskies return to the court next weekend as they begin a four-match homestand with a MAC contest against Ohio at 7 p.m. (CDT).