THE NEED TO KNOWS
Mid-American Conference Opening Weekend
DeKalb, Ill. (Victor E. Court)
Thursday: NIU (8-4) vs Western Michigan (5-8), 7 p.m.
Saturday: NIU (8-4) vs Bowling Green (10-3), 7 p.m.

WHAT'S HAPPENIN'
• After traveling over 11,000 over the last three weekends, NIU volleyball returns home to host Western Michigan and Bowling Green in the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play. For a breakdown of the mileage, see page 11 of the notes.
• Northern Illinois University went 3-0 last weekend at the GW Invitational in Washington, D.C., defeating James Madison and Tennessee in straight sets and closing the tournament with a 3-1 win over host George Washington.
• Senior Mary Grace Kelly was named the GW Invitational Tournament MVP, leading the Huskies in kills (3.0/set) and points (4.2/set). She also totaled eight service aces and six blocks during the tournament.
• Kelly entered last weekend with three service aces in nine matches. She is now second on the team with 11, trailing Jenna Radtke by one.
• The Huskies eight wins in non-conference play this year are the most since finishing 11-3 in 2011. NIU's .667 winning percentage is also its best clip since that season as well (.776).
• In the last five MAC openers, NIU is 5-0 and has gone 7-3 during the opening weekend of conference play.
• The Huskies home court advantage in MAC games has been tremendous as NIU has gone 33-7 since 2011 at home versus conference foes and 17-3 in their last 20 league games in Victor E. Court.
• Senior Jenna Radtke is 22nd in the nation and first in the Mid-American Conference in hitting percentage at a clip of .409. In 51 attacks last weekend, Radtke only committed one error and totaled 26 kills for a hitting percentage of .490 to earn GW Invitational All-Tournament honors.
• NIU has won its last six meetings against Western Michigan, last falling to the Broncos on Nov. 8, 2012 in Kalamazoo.
• The Huskies defeated Bowling Green last season in three sets during their lone meeting on Nov. 14, 2015, clinching the MAC's regular season championship.
• Northern Illinois University was picked to win the MAC's West Division in the preseason coaches poll, earning 11-of-12 first-place votes. Western Michigan earned the other first-place vote.
• As a team, the Huskies lead the conference in aces (1.43) and blocks (2.52) per set and rank in the top-100 in the country in those categories, ranking 41st in blocks per set.
• Bowling Green (1st), NIU (3rd) and Western Michigan (4th) comprise three of the MAC's top-four hitting teams so far this season. The Falcons are hitting .278 as a team.

NEXT UP
• NIU will resume MAC play next weekend, heading to Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan Sept. 30 and Oct. 1, respectively.