THE NEED TO KNOWS
Thursday, December 1
Iowa State (18-10) vs Purdue (18-13), 4:30 p.m.
NIU (25-5) at Missouri (25-5), 6:30 p.m.

Friday, December 2
NIU/Missouri vs Iowa State/Purdue, 6 p.m.

- All Missouri matches will air on SEC Network+, all other matches will air on ESPN3
- Must be an SEC Network television subscriber to watch match
- Live stats will be available for both matches on NCAA.com

WHAT'S HAPPENIN'
• After a five-season absence, the NIU volleyball program returns to the NCAA Tournament for its seventh postseason appearance. The Huskies will play in Columbia, Mo., taking on No. 15 seed Missouri and will appear with Iowa State and Purdue at the Hearnes Center.
• Northern Illinois University is 3-6 all-time in NCAA postseason play, last recording a victory in 1998 as it defeated Florida State in four sets, 10-15, 15-11, 15-10, 15-12, in Lousiville, Ky. The Huskies complete NCAA Tournament history can be found on page 3 of the notes.
• Thursday's match will be the third meeting between NIU and the Tigers and the first since 1988 in DeKalb. The Huskies are 2-0 all-time against Missouri, first meeting in 1979 at the SIU Invitational.
• As the No. 2 seed, NIU won the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Nov. 20, beating regular season co-champion Miami (Ohio) in straight sets, 25-18, 25-20, 25-20. The Huskies won their semifinal match against Ohio in straight sets as well.
• Both of NIU's matches were sellouts with the semifinal match versus the Bobcats setting a new Victor E. Court attendance record at 1,001. The gym holds 800 people.
• Led by Tournament MVP Mary Grace Kelly and All-Tournament selection Jenna Radtke, First Team All-MAC honorees, NIU led its foes in blocks (23-7), aces (12-2), points (116-85) and kills (81-76). The Huskies collectively outhit Ohio and Miami by 140 points with their .298 hitting percentage.
• Of their five losses this season, Northern Illinois University fell to three NCAA Tournament teams - No.8 seed Washington, Hawai'i and Miami (Ohio). The NIU Huskies played in front of 6,000 people against the Rainbow Wahine in the Stan Sheriff Center. Northern Illinois finished 2-3 versus tournament teams with three-set wins over James Madison and Miami.
• The Huskies have recorded 10-or-more blocks in a match 15 times this season, including both MAC Tournament contests, and are 23-2 when outblocking the opposition. NIU is ranked 21st nationally entering the postseason in blocks per set at 2.67 after amassing 3.83 blocks per stanza during the MAC Tournament.
• MAC player of the Year Jenna Radtke is ranked No. 24 nationally in hitting percentage at .385 while also ranking in the top-100 in blocks per set (1.16) and total blocks (128).
• Playing with two setters, the duo of freshman Sam Boever and junior Chandler Kinley have combined for 10.49 assists per set, paced by Kinley's 5.90 per set clip.
• Kinley is second on the team in total serves (451) and leads the team in service percentage (.973) with only 12 service errors on the season along with 21 aces. Outside hitter Taylor Krage, who also averages 1.89 kills per set, leads the team in total serves with 467.
• Anna Brereton leads NIU in digs per set with 4.06. A collective unit, the Huskies have three players that average two or more digs pet set in Brereton, Chandler Kinley (2.28) and Taylor Krage (2.11).
• At the net, middle blockers Jenna Radtke and Meg Wolowicz lead the team in blocks per set with 1.16 and 1.10 averages. On the outside, Mary Grace Kelly and Lauren Zielinski, boast clips of 0.66 and 0.83 respectively. Kelly shares the team lead with Wolowicz in block solos with 16.
• Mary Grace Kelly has tallied 33-of-36 service aces in the last 21 matches for NIU.
• Bri Horwath, who missed all of 2015 with injury, has been a quiet killer on the right side for the Huskies all season with 1.44 kills per set and a .214 hitting percentage in reserve of Lauren Zielinski's 1.61 kills and .263 percentage. During the MAC Tournament, Horwath hit .367 with 1.67 kills per set.

ABOUT THE OPPOSITION

MISSOURI
•  Missouri won the SEC Regular Season with a 16-2 record in the SEC and finished the season 25-5. They are the tournament's No. 15 seed out of 16 ranked teams.
• Mizzou is averaging 13.61 kills per set with a .274 hitting percentage while blocking 2.69 attacks per frame.
• Outside hitters Melanie Crow and Carly Kan are both averaging over three kills per set, led by Crow's 3.87 kill tally.
• Middle blocker Allya Munlyn leads the team's block party with 1.28 per set.
• In non-conference play, Missouri fell to Miami (Ohio) in five sets, 17-25, 25-22, 23-25, 25-27, 9-15.
• The Tigers are 4-3 against NCAA Tournament teams this season.

IOWA STATE
• The Cyclones enter the postseason with an 18-10 overall record, including a 10-6 mark in the Big XII.
• Iowa State was 3-8 against postseason opponents in 2016, earning its biggest win of the season Nov. 12 against No. 5 Texas in five sets.
• Jess Schaben leads the team in kills per set with 3.37 with a hitting percentage of .227.
• ISU has overpowered its foes on the attack with 13.73 kills per set to 11.89.
• The Cyclones 6-2 rotation has yielded two setters with at least six assists per set, paced by Monique Harris with 6.75.
• The Huskies are 3-9 all-time versus Iowa State, last defeating ISU in 1996. NIU has lost to the Cyclones twice since then (2011, 2013).

PURDUE
• Purdue finished the season with an 18-13 record and an 8-12 clip in Big Ten play.
• Versus NCAA Tournament foes, the Boilermakers went 7-11 with wins over Washington State, Howard, Coastal Carolina, Stanford, Kansas, Illinois and Michigan.
• Danielle Cuttino is 47th in the country in kills per set with 4.01, hitting an impressive .264 in 1,163 total swings (9.53/set).
• Built on absorbing opponents pressure and creating offense in transition, Purdue has four players averaging two or more digs per set. Natalie Haben paces the team with 3.09 digs per set.
• NIU is 5-3 all-time against Purdue, last meeting the Boilermakers in 1992. The Huskies fell in five sets to Purdue that night and last triumphed in 1974. The two teams have only met three times in the NCAA era with Purdue winning all three meetings.