August 30, 2002

WOMEN'S COLLEGE VOLLEYBALL--- Northern Illinois University vs. Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis / DeKalb, IL / NIU's Victor E. Court / Non-Conference Match / Friday / August 30, 2002.

FINAL SCORES: NORTHERN ILLINOIS defeats IUPUI (30-17, 30-25, 30-20)
Box Score

NIU BEGINS DEFENSE OF MAC TITLE WITH OPENING WIN OVER IUPUI IN THE BEST WESTERN INVITATIONAL
DeKALB, IL - As the saying goes: the more things change, the more they stay the same. That adage perfectly fits the Northern Illinois University volleyball team.

The team that ran away with last year's Mid-American Conference title only returns six players this season and is missing the MAC player and coach of the year. But that didn't matter to the 2003 addition as NIU rolled in a straight-set victory over Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis on Friday (August 30) at Victor E. Court.

Besides being the opening match of the season, Friday's contest against the Jaguars was a night of several firsts for Northern Illinois. For starters it was the Huskies opening match under first-year head coach Ray Gooden. It was also the inaugural athletics event in the state-of-the-art $35.8-million Convocation Center.

While the surroundings, coach and six new players were different, the results were the same. Northern Illinois ran its home-court winning streak to 15 games, dating back to last season in Chick Evans Field House. The straight-set victory was the Huskies' eighth in a row. NIU has not dropped a game at home since an Oct. 27, 2001, match against the University of Akron when the Zips took the third game 30-27.

A pair of service errors by the hosts allowed IUPUI to pull within 4-5 in the first game, but senior Tenisha Wilkins (Chicago / Simeon) served four straight points to give NIU a five point cushion. Poor play on the opposite side of the net was a major factor in the Huskies' game one victory. Eleven of NIU's last 18 points came from Jaguar errors as the Huskies easily rolled to a 30-17 victory.

"Everyone was so anxious to play and get out on the court," Gooden said. "There was a lot of nervous energy out there, but after about ten points we settled into a flow and everything worked itself out."
During the second game the Huskies got a big contribution outside hitter Brooke Dodson (St. Charles). After seeing limited playing time last year, the junior the made the most of her starting opportunity. Dodson hit a team-high .474 (13-of-19) with a three-game match career-high 12 kills. The dozen kills, half of which came in the second game, are more that one-third of her entire 2001 total.

"Brooke is trying her best to take advantage of every opportunity she is given," Gooden added. "Tonight she took advantage of being able to hit outside, but that might not be the case in the next match, but she realizes that and knows her role on the team."

With two games in their pocket and a crowd of 367 behind them, the Huskies played their best game in the third contest, registering 17 kills. Six different players recording at least one kill, with Wilkins leading the way at seven. The third NIU player to reach double-digits kills for the match was middle blocker Jen VonderHaar (Hibbing, MN) with ten as she fell one short of becoming the 12th player in school history to reach 1,000 career kills.

Wilkins recorded a match-high 13 kills on 31 attempts to up her career attempts total to 3,055, moving her into fifth on the all-time NIU charts. The outside hitter needs to average 15.6 attempts per game this year to break the NIU career mark of 3,494 set by Amber Howard. She is also 248 attempts away from ranking 20th in conference history.

"It was a good first match, we played with a lot of intensity," Gooden added. "It was good to get a win and have everyone contribute, but we need to get better, because of our level of competition is going to rise and we have to be able to step up and meet that challenge."

Northern Illinois back in action Saturday (August 31) at 2 p.m. when it takes on Drake University. The Huskies come back at 7 p.m. to face Indiana University, who won the opening match of the tournament 3-0 over the Bulldogs. It's a battle for the Hoosier state as IU meets IUPUI at noon Saturday, while Drake and IUPUI come back at 5 p.m.

---Copy by Michael Smoose

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