DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team will return home this weekend as it hosts Ball State and Toledo in the final two matches of the regular season. The Huskies will welcome Ball State to DeKalb on Friday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m., while the Rockets of Toledo will visit NIU on Saturday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. 

Friday night's match against the Cardinals will be Alumni Night for the Huskie volleyball program while Saturday night will be Senior Night as the Huskies honor seniors Anna Brereton (Sun Prairie, Wis./Sun Prairie), Chandler Kinley (Lexington, Ky./Lafayette) and Taylor Krage (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) prior to the match.

Heading into the final weekend of regular season play in the Mid-American Conference, NIU (7-22, 6-8 MAC) sits in ninth-place in the MAC standings just, just one match behind Central Michigan, Toledo and Western Michigan who are all tied at 7-7 in league play. The top-eight will advance to the MAC Tournament next week in Oxford, Ohio (Nov. 16-19).

Ball State comes into the weekend with a 17-10 overall record, 9-5 in league play as they sit atop the MAC West Division. As a team, the Cardinals rank second in the MAC in hitting percentage at .213 while setter Amber Seaman is averaging a league-best 10.86 assists per set running the Ball State offense.

In the first meeting of the season in Muncie, the Huskies outlasted the Cardinals in five sets (Oct. 7). Freshman Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) led four Huskies in double-figure kills with 21, Brereton added a match-high 22 digs. 

Toledo brings a 12-14 overall mark, which includes a 7-7 conference record, into action this weekend. The Rockets rank third in the MAC in blocks, averaging 2.16 per set as a team. Two Rockets are currently in the top-10 in the MAC in hitting percentage, Annie Beasley is ranked third at .363 while Rachel Vidourek is seventh at .309.

NIU claimed a four-set victory over the Rockets earlier this season in Toledo (Oct. 6). Martin had 24 kills in the match, junior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) and freshman Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevens) each added 14 kills.