DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team begins Mid-American Conference play this weekend as the Huskies travel Bowling Green to meet the defending conference tournament champion Falcons. NIU and Bowling Green will square off on Thursday, Sept. 21 and Friday, Sept. 22, both matches are scheduled for 5 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.
The two matches this weekend conclude an 11-match road trip for the Huskies that began with three matches at Davidson and included three matches at DePaul, as well as three matches last weekend at Northern Iowa. The Huskies went 1-2 last weekend at UNI, falling to then 25th-ranked Dayton and the host Panthers while sweeping North Dakota.
Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) was named the MAC West Defensive Player of the Week following the UNI Tournament as she averaged 5.22 digs per set. Hoffmeier had a weekend-high 22 digs against Northern Iowa and recorded 14 against North Dakota, helping the Huskies hold the Fighting Hawks to a .153 hitting percentage.
For the season, the Louisville, Ky., native leads the MAC, and ranked 15th nationally, with 5.19 digs per set.
Ella Mihacevich (Brunswick, Ohio/Padua Franciscan) was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Northern Iowa Tournament. Mihacevich averaged 4.22 assists per set while also recording 16 digs, six kills and two aces for the weekend. She helped lead the Huskie offense to a .395 hitting percentage in its 3-0 sweep of North Dakota. Mihacevich is currently ranked 10th in the MAC averaging 6.88 assists per set.
Charli Atiemo (Milford, Mich./Farmington Hills Mercy) ranks seventh in the MAC in both hitting percentage and blocks. Atiemo is hitting .311 for the season and is averaging 0.92 blocks per set.
The Falcons come into conference play with a 6-5 overall record after recording a pair of five-set wins over Michigan last weekend. Lauren Hovey leads Bowling Green with 2.87 kills per set along with 3.59 points per set, 10th-best in the MAC. Jessica Andrews averages 1.06 blocks per set, second-most in the MAC. As a team, Bowling Green ranks third in the MAC with 2.13 blocks per set, the Falcons are also fourth in the conference in hitting percentage at .213.
NIU will return home next weekend as the Huskies host Miami on Friday, Sept. 29 and Saturday, Sept. 30. First serve on Friday is scheduled for 6 p.m. and Saturday's match is slated for 3 p.m. Tickets for NIU Volleyball are on sale now at NIUHuskies.com/tickets.
