Sept. 4, 2007

DeKalb, Ill. - The Northern Illinois (3-4, 0-0 Mid-American Conference) volleyball team will face their third in-state team of the season when the Huskies match-up against DePaul University (0-5, 0-0 Big East) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. in Victor E. Court. NIU head coach Ray Gooden has fared well against Illinois opponents, going 16-9 in his five-plus years with the Huskies.

"We're fortunate to be in an area where volleyball is good," said Gooden. "We have so many schools that have volleyball. We're fortunate to be successful against Illinois teams. It helps in all facets of our program. The Illinois teams are all rivals. Being able to be successful against them means a lot."

The Huskies put together a solid weekend at the Butler Invitational, going 2-1 and finishing in second-place. Against Butler, NIU had four players with double-digit kills and four players with double-digit digs. With that outburst in the final match of the tournament, Gooden thinks that the Huskies could be on the brink of being a more consistent team.

"We hope it's starting to come together," Gooden said. "We hope that are players are taking positive steps. We are going to have a really good match-up against a young and feisty team in DePaul."

The Northern Illinois offensive attack is led by junior Irene Johnson (Schaumburg, Ill. / Schaumburg), who is averaging 3.48 kills and 3.76 points per game. With an average of 12.27 assists per game, junior Mandi Caputo (Chicago, Ill. / Immaculate Heart of Mary / DePaul) leads the Huskies in helpers. Defensively, freshman Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill. / North) has a team-high average of 4.15 digs per game.

Charla Drabant heads the DePaul charge with an average of 3.25 kills and 3.59 points per game. The Blue Demons leading passer is Christy Landschoot, who averages 10.44 assists per game. With 2.88 digs per game, Maureen Zigulich leads DePaul defensively.

"DePaul is a young team who is very hungry for a win," said Gooden. "They're excited to play closer to home. They are excited to come out to DeKalb and play us. We have to be ready for a challenge. They are going to come out with their best effort tomorrow night. We need to be ready to play a consistent match against them."

Huskies fans, if you can't make it to the match versus DePaul, be sure to listen to Bill Baker call the play-by-play on WLBK 1360 AM.

-NIU