Women's Volleyball | September 1

DeKALB, Ill. – After a successful weekend at the Huskie Invitational, the Northern Illinois University volleyball team (2-1, 0-0 MAC) heads southeast to compete in this weekend's Popcorn Classic, hosted by Valparaiso. Along with NIU and Valpo, Campbell and SIUE will be participating in the action.

The Huskies are coming off an impressive performance at the Huskie Invitational – the team came away with two three-set triumphs over NJIT (0-3, 0-0 America East) and UIC (2-1, 0-0 Missouri Valley).

"It was a positive week as far as learning to get better at some things that we want to improve on," said head volleyball coach Ray Gooden.

"Lots of good opportunities for us to continue to expand ourselves in all phases of the game. We're going to now use that to help us play against three really good teams this weekend,"

In the Popcorn Classic, the Huskies' only Friday match will be against Campbell (1-2, 0-0 Big South) at 1 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center (ARC) on Valparaiso's campus. Saturday, NIU opens play at 10 a.m. when they take on SIUE (2-0, 0-0 Ohio Valley) before playing Valpo (2-0, 0-0 Missouri Valley) in the tournament's finale at 6 p.m.

Campbell kicked off their 2022 season by going 2-1 in the Charlotte Invitational. The Camels split their twin bill on Friday after losing 1-3 to Syracuse, but rebounded quickly by sweeping Morgan State in the nightcap. Saturday, they concluded the tournament with a 1-3 loss to Charlotte.

SIUE enters the Popcorn Classic undefeated after winning Southern Illinois' Saluki Bash. The Cougars swept Grambling State Friday before dispatching the Salukis 3-2.

Valparaiso heads into this weekend's tournament undefeated as well after winning the Doubletree-Youngstown Invitational. On Friday, the Beacons beat Delaware State 3-1 and Idaho in three sets. Valpo wrapped up the tournament with another 3-1 win, this time over Youngstown State. Additionally, libero Emma Hickey was named Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week after averaging 5.36 digs/set.

Notably, both Campbell and Valparaiso had postseason successes last year. Campbell won their first Big South Championship, but met a tough foe in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament – they fell to Nebraska, the eventual NCAA Runner-up. The Beacons on the other hand made it all the way to the title game of the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC), but fell to UNLV in three sets.  

"These teams are experienced - they have a lot of players returning. So that in itself is going is one thing. These teams have had success recently, two were in the postseason last year and (SIUE) is always another in-state foe. All three matches are big challenges for us this weekend."

Season Tickets start at $30 in the general admission. A Huskie Four-Pack is available at $22.50 per ticket, with a minimum of four season tickets purchased. New for the 2022 season is the addition of 20 courtside seats on the south side of Victor E. Court. For $180, which includes a season ticket and Premium Seat License, Huskie fans will have a chance to experience NIU Volleyball like never before for less than $13 per match. All orders have a $5 handling fee. To purchase, click on the following link.