Sept. 21, 2010

Final Stats

Final Box

DeKALB, Ill. - With a 53-23 kills advantage, the Northern Illinois volleyball team cruised to a victory over local rival DePaul on Tuesday night at Victor E. Court, 25-20, 25-16, 25-14. The Huskies' third consecutive win improved them to 14-1 on the year, and 8-1 at home, as NIU handled its final test before starting Mid-American Conference play this weekend.

As the Huskies are staying on a program-historic pace, even NIU President John Peters made his way out to "The Dog House" to cheer with the Huskie faithful.

"It was great to have President Peters in attendance tonight along with our other loyal fans," said NIU head coach Ray Gooden, who is now 30-14 against intrastate opponents.

A trio of outside hitters compiled 39 of NIU's 53 kills. With her sixth double-double of the season, freshman Lauren Wicinski (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) paced the Huskies, totaling 17 kills (.343 hitting percentage), 12 digs and an ace. Junior Allison McGlaughlin (Morton, Ill./Morton) put up 13 kills and was one dig away from a double-double. Sophomore Meghan Romo (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) chimed in with nine kills (.429 hitting percentage) and two blocks.

"I thought the pins came out on a mission tonight," said Gooden. "They did a great job of helping us run at our tempo."

Junior setter Kristin Hoffman (Batavia, Ill./Batavia) turned in 34 assists, five digs, one kill and one ace in running an offense that registered a .287 hitting percentage, compared to DePaul's .110. Additionally, sophomore middle blocker Mary Kurisch (LaCrosse, Wis./West Salem) tallied eight kills and two blocks. She also had three assists as she briefly moved to setter in a blocking rotation in the second set. Under her guidance, the Huskies went from a 15-9 lead to an 18-10 lead.

Anchoring the back row were senior libero Maddie Hughes (St. Charles, Ill./North), who posted 12 digs, and sophomore defensive specialist Sue Hayes (Evergreen Park, Ill./Mother McAuley), who notched two digs, one ace, and an assist.

"I thought Maddie played her best match of the season tonight -- she was really in control out there," Gooden said. "And Sue played really well, too. The numbers won't show it, but she did a great job of putting us in motion."

The Huskies stayed in front of the Blue Demons for a majority of the match as there were only three lead changes all night. In the first set, four Wicinski kills helped NIU open an insurmountable 10-4 lead. Up 9-6 after a Blue Demon timeout in the second set, three kills from McGlaughlin fueled an 8-3 spurt that put the set out of reach. DePaul then dug themselves a hole in the final stanza by committing seven errors early on to allow the Huskies to take a 13-3 lead. NIU was able to ride the large advantage out for its 11th three-set win, and third in a row.

"It was really nice in our last home non-conference match to have another complete team effort," said Gooden.

The Huskies continue their seven-match home stand this weekend with the beginning of the MAC schedule. NIU will face Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Toledo on Saturday at 7 p.m.