Women's Volleyball | September 30

DeKALB, IL – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team returns to Victor E. Court this weekend to host the Eastern Michigan Eagles for two matches this Friday and Saturday. Friday's match is set for 6 p.m. with a broadcast available on ESPN+, and Saturday's match will start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the following link, or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225).
 
This weekend's series gives the Huskies a welcome, if not brief, respite from being on the road. NIU opened Mid-American Conference play last week with two matches at Central Michigan and a match this past Tuesday night at Western Michigan, and after this weekend go on the road for four more matches.
 
"We take a lot of pride in defending our home court," said head coach Ray Gooden. "Victor E. Court is unique to the Mid-American Conference as a volleyball-centric facility. When people walk in, they'll get an experience they may not have seen elsewhere."
 
NIU (7-6, 1-2 MAC) had one of it's better offensive showings of the season this past Tuesday night at Western Michigan, putting down 64 kills and hitting .298 for the match despite a 3-1 loss. Senior setter Grace Balensiefer (Lafayette, Ind./McCutcheon) paced the Huskies with a season-high 57 assists, three shy of her career high. She also had 14 digs for her seventh double-double of the season. Balensiefer is second in the MAC in assists, averaging 11.10 per set this season. She has moved into fifth on the NIU Volleyball career assists list with 3,319.
 
"Our passing has been good enough for Grace to get her hands on the ball to run our offense," Gooden said. "It's Grace's decision-making and technique, along with the balance on our team, that has gotten her to this place. She's been working very hard to be one of the top setters in the conference, to put herself at a level for people to see that over her four years here at NIU."
 
The Huskies have also gotten a lift on the backline from freshman libero Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle). She led all players Tuesday night with 30 digs at Western Michigan, a season-high. Bertucci has averaged six digs per set to start MAC play and enters the weekend sixth in digs at 4.06 per set. She also leads NIU with 16 aces which put her fifth in the conference. Bertucci has had at least 20 digs in a match four times this year, and has had double-figure digs in eight of the last 10 matches.
 
"Franki, along with the entire bump squad, has embraced the role they have on this team and have been executing that," said Gooden. "She saves plays for us and continues to work on her complete game. It's a solid room of bumpers that do a really good job."
 
Eastern Michigan (5-8, 0-2) opened conference last weekend by dropping two matches to Western Michigan at the EMU Convocation Center. Redshirt-Sophomore middle blocker Raeven Chase leads the MAC with 1.07 blocks per set. Setter Jayden Otto is fifth in the league in assists per set at 10.00. NIU and Eastern Michigan split its series this past spring at Victor E. Court, with each side winning a four-set match.
 
Following this weekend, NIU goes on the road next week to take on Bowling Green (Oct. 8) and Miami (Oct. 9).
 
--NIU--