DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team continues its current stretch of five consecutive road matches this weekend when it travels to Ball State and Toledo.
 
The Huskies began this road trip last weekend with a pair of five-set matches at Kent State and Ohio. NIU rallied from two sets down on Oct. 19 to force a fifth at Kent State, but lost the deciding set 15-9. On Oct. 20, NIU bounced back with a 3-2 win (25-23, 25-27, 17-25, 32-30, 15-7) at MAC East preseason favorites Ohio. The Huskies faced four match points in the fourth set before ultimately taking the set and the match. NIU has played three straight five-set matches for the first time since 2016 when the Huskies beat Akron, Kent State, and Ohio consecutively.
 
NIU opened Mid-American Conference play with victories over the Cardinals and Rockets Sept. 21 and 22 to open league play. The Huskies swept Toledo 3-0 (25-15, 25-21, 25-23) on Sept. 21 at Victor E. Court for head coach Ray Gooden's 300^th career victory. Senior Meg Wolowicz (Manitowoc, Wis./Manitowoc Lincoln) led all players with 16 kills and hit .344 for the match. Jori Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) added 15 kills and 10 digs. The next night, NIU defeated west division favorites Ball State 3-1 (25-23, 25-18, 22-25, 25-21). Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) paced the NIU offense with 40 assists, adding five kills of her own.
 
Ball State currently leads the MAC West with an 8-2 record, with Eastern Michigan and the Huskies tied for second with 6-4 marks. The Cardinals have won seven of their last eight matches after splitting at Miami and Bowling Green last weekend. Ball State lost in five sets to Miami on Oct. 19 before earning a sweep at Bowling Green the next night. Setter Amber Seaman leads the MAC in assists, averaging 10.52 per set.
 
Toledo is 3-7 in the MAC after dropping a pair of four-set matches at Bowling Green and Miami last weekend. The Rockets are 1-6 over the last seven matches. Middle Blocker Zoe Birnbrich is second in the MAC in hitting percentage at .340, while libero Maurissa Leonard is third in the conference with 6.01 digs per set.
 
Both matches this weekend have a first serve of 6 p.m. Friday night's match at Ball State will be broadcast on ESPN3, with the match at Toledo Saturday on ESPN+. ESPN+ is ESPN's new direct-to-consumer video platform, available at a cost of $4.99 per month or $49.99 per year. It is accessible via the ESPN App on both iOS and Android devices, desktop, and TV-connected devices such as Apple TV, Roku, Fire TV, Android TV, and Chromecast. ESPN+ is available for a seven-day free trial and can be used on up to five streaming devices simultaneously. Matches on ESPN3 are available through the ESPN App and WatchESPN.com with pay television credentials.

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