DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team plays its first home matches since Nov. 14, 2019 when the Toledo Rockets come to Victor E. Court for a pair of matches Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 4 p.m. Thursday's match will be broadcast on ESPN3.
The Huskies opened the season last weekend at Bowling Green, which was picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference East Division. Last Friday, NIU rallied from two sets down to force a deciding fifth set but lost 15-13 in the final set. Bowling Green then swept the Huskies 3-0 on Saturday. The Huskies have two of the top-10 blockers in the MAC through the first weekend of action.
Junior
Angie Gromos (West Chicago, Ill./West Chicago) is tied for second in the league with 1.29 blocks per set as
JoDee Kovanda (Lockport, Ill./West Florida) is tied for sixth at 1.00 blocks per set. Kovanda hit .345 in the two matches at Bowling Green and averaged 2.75 kills per set.
Toledo (0-2) had much of the same weekend against Western Michigan as NIU did at Bowling Green. The Rockets lost in five sets last Friday to the Broncos at Savage Arena, then lost 3-0 on Saturday. Sophomore middle blocker Olivia Vance leads Toledo with a .366 hitting percentage, 1.00 blocks per set and 0.50 service aces per set. NIU has won 17 of the last 19 meetings after the two teams split the 2019 season series.
Although fans are unable to attend NIU volleyball matches this season, you can still make your presence felt in Victor E. Court by purchasing a cutout as part of the "Huskie Howl" presented by First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO). For just $60, fans can put their image on a cutout that will remain in place in the Victor E. Court for all NIU volleyball matches during the 2020-21 season. Net proceeds from all fan cutouts will benefit the Huskie Athletic Fund.
Click here to order your cutout.
--NIU--
