DEKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University volleyball team will play three matches in three days in Chicago this weekend as the Huskies compete in the DePaul Invitational. NIU opens the tournament against host DePaul on Thursday (Sept. 7) at 7 p.m. before facing Evansville on Friday (Sept. 8) at 4 p.m. and St. Thomas (Minn.) on Saturday (Sept. 9) at 12 p.m.

A live stream of Thursday's match against DePaul will be available via FloSports, Friday and Saturday's matches will not be streamed. 

NIU returns to the State of Illinois this weekend after earning its first victory of the season last week at Davidson's Wildcat Classic. The Huskies toppled UNC Wilmington on five set, 25-23, 22-25, 16-25, 25-18, 15-11, to give NIU head coach Sondra Parys her first career victory. Nikolette Nedic (Willowbrook, Ill./Hinsdale Central) recorded a match-high 17 kills in the win while Crew Hoffmeier (Louisville, Ky./Assumpton) tallied a match-high 36 digs.

Hoffmeier, who was named to the All-Tournament Team at the Wildcat Classic, comes into this weekend leading the Mid-American Conference, and ranked eighth in the country, in digs, averaging 5.37 per set. Nedic is ranked second in the MAC in kills, averaging 3.56 per set, and is also second in the league with 102.0 points. 

DePaul comes into the weekend with a 2-3 overall record record after winning two of three matches this past weekend in Buffalo, topping Binghamton and Montana. Jill Pressly averages a team-high 4.29 kills per set while Rachel Krasowski is averaging a team-best 5.65 digs per set, fourth-best in the nation. Thursday's match against the Huskies will be the home opener for the Blue Demons. 

Evansville brings a 4-1 record into the DePaul Invitational this weekend. The Purple Aces have won four-straight matches, including wins over Samford and North Alabama last weekend. Giulia Cardona leads the Purple Aces with 4.94 kills per set while Ainoah Cruz is averaging a team-best 4.56 digs per set. Two players for Evansville are averaging more than a block per game, Madisyn Steele (1.38) and Brooke Springer (1.13). 

St. Thomas brings to Chicago with a 1-5 overall record after going 1-2 in their home tournament this past weekend. The Tommies defeated Cal Baptist while falling to Montana State and Milwaukee. Emma Goerger is averaging a team-best 3.23 kills per set while Ella Voegele is averaging 4.17 digs per set.

Thursday's contest with DePaul will be the 34th all-time meeting between the Huskies and Blue Demons, but the first since 2018. NIU leads the series, 22-11. Evansville and St. Thomas will both be first time opponents for the Huskies. 

Following this weekend's tournament at DePaul, NIU will head back on the road for the final weekend of non-conference play as the Huskies travel to Northern Iowa, Sept. 15-16. NIU will take on Dayton and North Dakota on Friday, Sept. 15, before meeting host Northern Iowa on Saturday, Sept. 16.