Women's Volleyball | October 31
DeKALB, IL – Fresh off of a weekend sweep of Kent State and Ohio at Victor E. Court last week, the Northern Illinois University volleyball team is on the road this week to take on Eastern Michigan Friday night at 6 p.m. and Central Michigan on Saturday at 4:30 p.m.
Last weekend was NIU's first sweep of a Mid-American Conference weekend this season, moving the Huskies to 5-5 in the league and a tie for second place in the west with Ball State. The Huskies hit a season-high .354 in a 3-1 (26-24, 19-25, 25-19, 25-18) win over Kent State on October 25
th, led by
Kaitlyn Bell's (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) 16 kills and .464 hitting percentage. Sophomore
Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) had a career-high 15 kills the next night in a 3-1 (13-25, 28-26, 25-23, 25-17) win over Ohio.
NIU earned a pair of weekly honors from the MAC on Monday. Sophomore setter
Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) received her first MAC West Setter of the Week award after averaging 11 assists per set last weekend. Balensiefer had 46 assists against Kent State and followed that up with her sixth double-double of the year with 42 assists and 13 digs against Ohio. Junior libero
Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) was named MAC West Defensive Player of the Week for averaging 5.50 digs per set against Kent State and Ohio. She led both matches in digs with 23 against the Golden Flashes and 21 against the Bobcats.
The Huskies split their first meetings with Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan earlier this season. NIU defeated the Eagles 3-1 (25-17, 17-25, 25-18, 25-22) at Victor E. Court on September 28 behind 16 kills from
Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington) and Kemp's seven blocks. The Huskies opened MAC play with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 21-25, 16-25) loss to Central Michigan on September 27.
The Chippewas lead the MAC West with an 8-2 record. Central Michigan leads the conference with an opponent hitting percentage of .150. Outside hitter Kalina Smith is second in the MAC in kills with 3.35 per set. Eastern Michigan is 3-7 in the MAC after splitting last weekend's matches with Akron and Buffalo.
Following this weekend, NIU begins a three-match homestand November 8 and 9 against Toledo and Ball State.
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