Nov. 5, 2008

DeKalb, Ill. - With only four matches remaining, the Northern Illinois volleyball team will host its final two regular season home matches of the year as the Huskies (14-12, 6-6) take on Eastern Michigan (9-18, 3-9) on Friday at 7 p.m. CST on "Career Closet Night" and Central Michigan (17-8, 10-2) on Saturday at 7 p.m. on "Senior Night."

"It's nice to be at home this weekend after a tough road trip last week," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. "We have four divisional matches remaining and the best way for us to be successful in those matches is to do our best to take care of our side of the net."

Prior to their match versus Central Michigan, the Huskies will honor seniors Maria Benitez (Lincoln, Ill./Lincoln), Jody Hardwick (Crystal Lake, Ill./South/St. Louis), Irene Johnson (Schaumburg, Ill./Schaumburg) and Katie Walsh (St. Charles, Ill./North). Each senior has impacted the NIU volleyball program in many ways and helped the Huskies win the MAC West in 2006.

Benitez has won the team Karen Salvani Spirit Award and has been a Huskie Scholar (3.00 - 3.49 GPA) in each of her first three seasons with NIU. She has also recorded over 507 digs in her career. Hardwick has twice been a Victory Scholar and has notched 714 career digs. Johnson has tallied 813 kills in her career and has been a Victory Scholar (3.50 or better GPA) each year at NIU. In 2007, along with being named team MVP, she was named to the Academic All-MAC Team and was also selected to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-American District V Second-Team. Walsh has totaled 351 kills and 175 blocks in her career and leads the team in blocks per set this year with 0.67.

"All four seniors have made contributions to the program and as we continue to go through the 2008 campaign it will be nice for us to recognize Maria, Jody, Irene and Katie on Saturday night," Gooden said.

NIU currently sits in a tie with Ball State for sixth-place in the overall MAC standings with a three-match deficit on the three teams that are tied for fifth (Bowling Green, Ohio and Miami) and a three-match lead on the four teams that are tied for seventh (Kent State, Akron, Toledo and Eastern Michigan). If the Huskies finish between eighth and fifth in the conference, they will host a first-round match in the MAC Tournament on Tuesday, November 18. If the Huskies finish worse than eighth, they will go on the road for their first-round match and if they finish better than fifth, they will received a first-round bye.

NIU junior Meagan Schoenrock (Sylvania, Ohio/Northview) leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the nation in kills (4.58/set). Freshman Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton) is second on the team with 3.22 kills and 2.29 digs per set. Freshman Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) has a team-high 506 assists (9.37/set). Sophomore Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North) leads the defense with 4.32 digs per set.

Eastern Michigan has lost seven of its last eight matches, but has four of its nine wins on the road with only two wins at home, including a 3-2 decision over the Huskies on October 4. However, the Huskies hold a 20-17 lead in the all-time series with EMU. Victoria Randolph has a team-high average of 2.81 kills per set and Ashley Mason runs the offense with 9.03 assists per set. Emily Good leads the Eagles in blocks (0.90/set) and Kim Jarzynka paces the defense with 4.75 digs per set.

"We know that Eastern Michigan is a solid team though it might not show in the results," Gooden said. "They have both youth and experience that can cause teams trouble when they play at a high level."

Central Michigan has won 10 of its last 12 matches with CMU's two losses being in three sets to Miami and the Huskies on October 3. NIU leads the all-time series against CMU, 22-15. The Chippewas lead the conference in service aces with 1.72 per set, led by Whitney Evers (0.33/set), who also leads CMU in kills (2.97/set). Stephanie Budde paces the offense with 10.66 assists per set and Alexis Lonneman averages a team-best 4.48 digs per set for the CMU defense.

"Central Michigan is the best serving team in our conference," said Gooden. "We know that they are going to bring their best match to us on Saturday."

The Huskies finish the regular season on the road next weekend with a match against Toledo (11-14, 3-9) on Friday, November 14 at 6:30 p.m. and a contest with Ball State (11-16, 6-6) on Saturday, November 15 at 6 p.m.