WASHINGTON, D.C. - Despite logging plenty of frequent flyer miles within the last week, the NIU volleyball team (7-4) appeared unfazed in its first day of the GW Invitational, defeating James Madison (7-3) and Tennessee (7-3) in straight sets.

With the wins, NIU improved to 14-3 following weekends in which they traveled 900+ miles under Head Coach Ray Gooden.

"I thought we did a really nice of taking care of our side of the ball against James Madison and I thought our serving, our passing and especially our defense created chances for us to score today," said Gooden. "The Tennessee match was just a competitive game against two teams that have put themselves in positive places this season. I thought that we did some things with our block in the match statistically but I thought we did a good job of handling their serve and scoring on our service."

Gooden was pleased with the day and where it put the team headed into the final match against George Washington tomorrow at 11 a.m. but knows that the match is going to be a challenge for the Huskies.

"It's going to be our third match in 24 hours and this tournament is the first time George Washington has been home this season so they're going to be excited and ready to play. But, we have the chance to close out a positive weekend and the chance to play for a championship," he added.

Fans can watch tomorrow's contest on the Atlantic 10 Network and follow GameTracker on GWSports.com.

GAME ONE
NIU opened the tournament against James Madison in the morning session of the GW Invitational, winning in three sets, 25-19, 25-13, 25-16. Statistically, the Huskies controlled the game from start to finish as it led the Dukes in all categories.

The Huskies outhit JMU by over 200 points in the contest as they only committed a mere eight attacking errors with a hitting percentage of .312. Taylor Krage (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) paced the Huskies in with nine kills and 10.5 points as she added a service ace and a block assist.

After a tight first set, 25-19, Northern Illinois University controlled the last two sets, 25-13 and 25-16. Tied 8-8 in the second stanza, NIU finished the frame on a 17-5 run that included a 5-0 run to finish the set in which Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie) recorded two aces.

The Huskies high octane play continued in the final frame as it opened the match on a 10-2 run that continued to 13-3 lead despite a James Madison timeout. Both teams recorded game-highs in attacks in the set, combining for 76 attacks with JMU leading the way at 41, as each team dug out the opposition's attempts.

Defensively, NIU out-blocked the Dukes, 8-2, as Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) led the Huskies with five block assists. Chandler Kinley (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 digs, NIU's match-high, and 11 assists.

GAME TWO
The Huskies were aggressive on the attack as they increased their point output in the match to 52 from 51, thanks to six service aces versus the Volunteers. Northern Illinois swept Tennessee, 25-23, 25-22, 25-20.

Jenna Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) was NIU's top all-around performer as she led in kills (9), hitting percentage (.563) and blocks (5) while also registering two service aces.

NIU recorded its second double-digit blocking effort of the season as it stuffed 10 of the Volunteers attempts in the match, forcing them to hit .157 which included an even .000 in the opening set.

In the first frame, NIU carried a late 23-20 lead with service advantage, however, Tennessee stormed back to tie the match, 23-23. The Huskies took the final two points to win the set in deuce, 25-23, improving to 4-4 in deuce sets.

The Huskies trailed in the second set, 18-16, before putting together a 7-0 run that carried through a Volunteer timeout and put NIU on top, 23-18. Though UT rallied, the Huskies claimed the set, 25-22.

With their 25-20 third set triumph, that featured six scoring runs and only one attacking error for the Huskies,  they improved to 2-0 all-time against the Volunteers and put themselves in the driver's seat to claim the tournament championship.

Freshman setter Sam Boever (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert), who led NIU in assists during the James Madison match, repeated the performance against Tennessee in the afternoon session as she accumulated 16.