DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team has a quick turnaround from the NIU Holiday Inn Express Invitational as the Huskies return to the court on Monday night, Aug. 28, when they travel to Milwaukee to meet the Panthers. Match time is scheduled for 6 p.m., and will be available on ESPN3.
The Huskies will look to bounce back after dropping all three matches in their season-opening tournament against High Point, Dayton and Cal Poly. Junior
Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) was named to the NIU Invitational All-Tournament Team after recording a team-best 29.5 points and a team-high .273 hitting percentage. In the three matches, Wolowicz recorded 22 kills (2.0 per set) and also had 12 total blocks (1.09 per set) en route to the honor. This is the second consecutive season that Wolowicz has been named to the All-Tournament Team at the NIU Invitational.
Five NIU freshmen saw their first collegiate action this past weekend at the NIU Holiday Inn Express Invitational.
Kaylee Martin (Sterling, Ill./Sterling) and
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) started all three matches and appeared in all 11 sets, Martin collected a team-best 27 kills in the tournament.
Maddy Katchen (Fox River Grove, Ill./Cary-Grove) and
Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) each played in 10 of the 11 sets while
Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) saw time in seven sets.
Milwaukee is 1-2 this season after opening at home in the Pepsi Panther Invitational with a victory over Idaho State and losses to South Dakota State and Virginia Tech. Caitlin Schultz is averaging 3.69 kills per set to pace the Panthers attack while Bri Wallenberger is averaging 1.08 blocks per set.
The Panther recorded a 15-13 record a season ago, including a 9-7 mark in the Horizon League; Milwaukee was picked to finish fourth in the conference preseason poll.
Following Monday's match, the Huskies will look west as they travel to the Oregon Classic, Sept. 1-2 in Eugene, Ore. NIU will meet Loyola Marymount and Texas-Rio Grande Valley on Friday, Sept. 1, before playing the host Oregon Ducks on Saturday, Sept. 2.
