DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team opens the 2019 season this weekend with the NIU Invitational August 30-31 at Victor E. Court.
The Huskies will take on Fairleigh Dickinson Friday at 12 p.m., followed by a 7 p.m. matchup with SIU Edwardsville that will be broadcast on ESPN+. NIU closes the weekend with a 1 p.m. match against UC Riverside on Saturday. The first 100 NIU students in attendance for the match against FDU will receive free pizza. Friday night's match is a Camper Reunion. Those that attended this past summer's Huskie volleyball camps receive free admission if they wear their camp t-shirt to the match, with their parents able to get $2 tickets. Saturday's match is a Huskie Tailgate with fans able to get $3 tickets if they show their football ticket at the box office.
After missing the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament, NIU put together a 9-7 conference campaign to reach last season's postseason tournament. The Huskies return 11 letterwinners from last season's squad but will have to replace their top two offensive players. Head Coach
Ray Gooden believes his group for 2019 can continue this upward swing.
"I think that there's potential in this group, I really do," Gooden said as he embarks on his 18
th season as NIU head coach. "It's just a lot of understanding going on. Hopefully we can grab on to it faster and be consistent for longer periods of time."
Of the 11 returners on this season's roster, two of them played in every set last season. Junior libero
Miranda Karlen (Evansville, Wis./Evansville) led NIU with 5.14 digs per set which was fifth-most in the MAC. She also led the Huskies with 36 service aces. Sophomore setter
Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) averaged 7.77 assists per set in her rookie season. NIU was 5-2 in 2018 in matches where Balensiefer had at least 40 assists. A solid combination for the first two contacts could be key to a successful 2019 for NIU.
"That helps us out a lot to be able to understand what we're trying to do to get to the end, so if we get a good first contact that puts us in a better spot to run the offense we want to," said Gooden.
That final piece of the puzzle will be something to watch this season. NIU will re-tool its attack after losing over 60 percent of its kills from 2018. Senior
Brinley Milbrath (Cedar Rapids, Iowa/John F. Kennedy) had 81 kills in 16 matches last season, with an increased work load from junior
Amanda Rullan Vilanova (Bayamon, Puerto Rico/Savannah State) expected as well. Three of the Huskies' four newcomers for 2019 are at the outside hitter position in
Peyton Tilly (Barrington, Ill./Barrington),
Kaitlyn Bell (De Soto, Kan./De Soto) and
Brianna Scuric (East Troy, Wis./East Troy).
"We'll play some different combinations," said Gooden. "We have some different faces and some players who just haven't had as much of an impact as they have before. I feel like they're going to be in those spots, whether they're young or a bit older, and they've improved their understanding. Hopefully that will show in their output."
NIU looks to be strong up front in 2019, returning two of its top-three blockers. Junior
Kennedy Wallace (Kansas City, Kan./Piper) had 82 blocks last season and finished the season with 22 blocks in the last five matches. Sophomore
Jasmine Kemp (DeKalb, Ill./DeKalb) had 74 blocks a season ago with at least five rejections in seven matches.
The Huskies open 2019 against three programs that they have faced a combined one time. NIU will face FDU and UC Riverside for the first time ever while taking on SIUE for the second time ever.
"We're just going to try to do our best inside our part of the square," Gooden said. "It's really about us right now trying to find who we are and what we can do."
--NIU--
