A lot of people in Ann Arbor, MI are talking about the NIU volleyball team.

A lot of those people, particularly the head coach for the University of Michigan, Peggy Bradley-Doppes, are talking about the Wolverines versus the Huskies match that closes out the University of Michigan Tournament held Friday and Saturday.

Before the much-anticipated match can take place, the Huskies, who dropped to 9-2 following Tuesday’s loss to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, face Georgia State University (1-2) and Marquette University (2-7). In their first-ever meeting, GSU and NIU open the tournament at 5 p.m. Friday while the Warriors join the Huskies on court at noon, Saturday.

“It’s going to be a tough tournament,” Bradley-Doppes said. “I think Marquette is going to be competitive and Georgia State is going to be a very physical team. But NIU is the one that’s going to keep everyone’s hands full.”

NIU’s early matches might be a good time for the Huskies to polish their defense. Statistically, the Wolverines (5-2) have the No. 1 and No. 2 hitters in the Big Ten Conference.

Topping the list is sophomore Michelle Horrigin who boasts a .390 average with 89 kills which stands as the conference best and a No. 2 spot in the Big Ten’s kills per game chart. Teammate and sophomore Fiona Davidson stands at the second best hitting position with .369 with 40 kills. Davidson also leads the Big Ten in single-match ace serves with 7.

Considering UM has never gone more than three games a match this season (win or lose), the numbers are actually more impressive than they appear.

“Since all seven of our matches have only gone three games this year it kind of hurts the players,” UM sports information director Amy Carlton said. “They can’t build up a lot of big numbers when they aren’t playing as much.”

Meanwhile, Bradley-Doppes is a little concerned about UM’s mental strength should the NIU match go more than three games.

“I’m not worried about physical fatigue but mental fatigue,” Bradley-Doppes said. “We’re a young team with a lot of freshmen and sophomores and it’s a real challenge to keep a team mentally tough for a long period of time … particularly at the level NIU has been playing.

“Northern has had a banner year so far and from the scouting reports we’ve been getting it’s just impressive how gutsy they are on defense,” Bradley-Doppes added.

The UM and NIU match is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.