DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team heads to Cedar Falls, Iowa, this weekend for its final three non-conference matches at the Northern Iowa Tournament. NIU will play two matches on Friday, Sept. 15, when the Huskies face 25th-ranked Dayton at 11 a.m. and North Dakota at 5 p.m., before finishing the tournament against host Northern Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m. All three matches will be available on ESPN+. 

Last weekend at the DePaul Invitational, Emily Dykes (Winterville, N.C./Ayden-Grifton) was named to the All-Tournament Team after averaging a team-best 3.25 kills per set while hitting .349 with 39 total kills. Dykes also recorded a team-high nine blocks in the tournament, averaging 0.75 blocks per set, while recording a team-high 44.0 points.

Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) leads the Mid-American Conference is digs, and ranks 17th in the country, averaging 5.18 per set, while Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) is ninth in the MAC in kills per set, averaging 3.23. Nedic is also seventh in the conference in points with 134.5 and is sixth in the conference in total kills with 126.

Dayton comes into the weekend with an 8-2 overall record and ranked 25th in this week's AVCA poll. The Flyers are coming off a sweep of their own Dayton Invitational as they defeated UIC, Wright State and Ball State last weekend. The Flyers lead the Atlantic 10 in aces per set (2.07), blocks per set (2.39) and hitting percentage (.267). NIU leads the all-time series against Dayton, 8-4, with the last meeting between the two programs coming in 2019. 

The Fighting Hawks of North Dakota bring a 3-6 record into the weekend. North Dakota went 2-1 at its home tournament last weekend, topping Green Bay and Montana while falling to New Mexico. Paige Barber leads North Dakota in kills with 2.59 per set while Izzie McCormick paces the Fighting Hawks with 3.00 digs per set. Friday's matchup will be the first all-time meeting between NIU and North Dakota. 

UNI is playing at home for the first time this weekend and the Panthers bring a 4-5 record into their home tournament after going 1-2 at the Texas A&M Invitational, topping TCU while falling to Texas A&M and Utah State. UNI leads the Missouri Valley in assists, averaging 13.24 per set, which ranks 14th nationally. The Panthers are also 23rd nationally, and second in the Missouri Valley, with 13.97 kills per set. Saturday's match will be the 19th all-time meeting between the Huskies and Panthers, but the first since 2017. 

Next week, NIU will conclude its 11-match road trip as the Huskies open MAC play with a pair of matches at Bowling Green. The Huskies and Falcons will meet on Thursday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Sept. 22, with both matches scheduled for 5 p.m. CT.