DEKALB, Ill. – Following a pair of road wins last weekend, the Northern Illinois University volleyball team will be back on the road this weekend as the Huskies travel to Buffalo on Friday, Oct. 13, and Akron on Saturday, Oct. 14. Friday's match with Buffalo is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT, while first serve on Saturday at Akron is slated for 4 p.m. CT.

NIU (4-17, 3-3 MAC) comes into the weekend having won three-straight, including a pair last weekend at Toledo and Ball State. 

Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) was named the Mid-American Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Monday (Oct. 9) following her weekend performance as she averaged 5.00 kills and 5.83 points per set in the weekend sweep of the Rockets and Cardinals. Martin posted double-doubles in both matches and currently leads the MAC in kills (4.96) and points (5.54) per set in conference play. 

Four different Huskies reached double figure kills for the first time this season in NIU's five-set victory at Ball State (Oct. 7). Martin led the way with 21 kills, freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) recorded 13 kills, one shy of her career-best set the previous night at Toledo, junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) added 12 kills and sophomore Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) set a new career-high with 10 kills.

Buffalo comes into the weekend with a 9-8 overall record, including a 2-4 mark in league play. The Bulls lead the MAC in conference play in hitting percentage with a team percentage of .214, including a pair of players ranked in the top-five in the conference. Cassie Shado is ranked second at .370 while Megan Wernette is ranked fifth at .337. 

Akron bring a 6-12 record into this weekend's play, and a 2-4 record in the MAC. The Zips lead the conference in service aces during league play as they average 1.71 aces per set. Akron is averaging 1.51 aces per set overall this season, which ranks second in the MAC and in the top-50 nationally. 

Following this weekend's road trip, the Huskies will return home for the next four matches, beginning on Friday, Oct. 20, at Ohio. NIU will also host Kent State next Saturday, Oct. 21.