Women's Volleyball | November 2

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team returns to the court this Friday (Nov. 4) and Saturday (Nov. 5) in a critical weekend series with Central Michigan at Victor E. Court.

The Huskies (14-9, 7-6 MAC) look to amend a pair of road losses this past weekend to Kent State and Ohio. Katie Jablonski (Elburn, Ill./Kaneland) paced NIU's attack with 20 kills (3.33/set) and added 21 points (3.5/set) through the two matches. Francesca Bertucci (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle) anchored the backcourt logging a match-high 23 digs versus Kent State before adding a team-high 17 digs the following night against Ohio.

The History: NIU leads the all-time series 41-26. The last time the pair met, the Huskies came back from one set down and won the ensuing three to beat CMU in four sets (14-25, 25-23, 26-24, 25-22) on Sept. 25, 2021 at McGuirk Arena in Mount Pleasant. Jablonski led all players with 18 kills, adding 14 digs for a double-double.

Scouting CMU: The Chippewas (15-9, 8-5 MAC) have won four of their last five contests and currently sit fifth in the league, just one game in front of NIU. Most recently, CMU beat Akron in straight sets last Friday before falling to Buffalo in a five-set thriller. Savannah Thompson leads Central Michigan's attack with 3.43 kills-per-set while Maddie Whitfield averages .96 blocks-per-set. Whitfield was named the Mid-American Conference West Division Defensive Player of the Week following her 17 blocks (2.13/set) last weekend.

Both matches this weekend will broadcast live on ESPN3. Friday's match will start at 6 p.m. and stream here. First serve is set for 2 p.m. on Saturday and can be streamed here.