Women's Volleyball | August 24

CHICAGO- With the first official game of the 2024 season six days away, the Northern Illinois University Huskies volleyball team took the court this afternoon (Aug. 24) in an exhibition game at DePaul University.
 
"Today had moments of good and moments of growth," said head coach Sondra D'Amore. "It was nice to get everyone some experience and mess around with lineups for next weekend. Seeing someone else across the net was the best thing for us. We must continue to find ways to push each other in our own gym."
 
Alexa Hayes (Magnolia, Tex.), Ava Grevengoed (Shorewood, Ill.), Ella Strausberger (Plainfield, Ill.), Rylea Alvin (Randolph, Wis.), and Emma McCartney (Chardon, Ohio) saw action in today's exhibition game as they made their unofficial debuts as Huskies. Kylie Schulze (Wonder Lake, Ill.) joined the Huskies for the spring 2024 season and saw action in unofficial games.
 
This afternoon's exhibition at DePaul provided D'Amore and her staff a chance to see the systems that they have been putting into place during this preseason.
 
"One of our focuses for the season was to get more opportunities to terminate the ball. That we are doing now we just need to use those opportunities to score," noted D'Amore. "Our attackers need to learn how to take more risks with the ball. We will be expanding our offensive range as we prepare for next weekend."
 
The Huskie Invitational, which runs August 30 to September 1, will officially open the 2024 season for the Huskies as the opening weekend games will take place in the NIU Convocation Center. The Huskies face Western Illinois on August 30 as they "Cram the Convo" before taking on Milwaukee on September 1.
 
Season and single game tickets are on sale now as the Huskies have 12 home games this season. Tickets can be purchased here or by calling the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). Calls received outside of business hours (Monday-Friday, 9 am-5 pm CT) will be returned the next business day.