There’s no way around it, NIU volleyball’s 2024 season was beyond disappointing. The Huskies posted an all-time worst 4-24 record, including going 2-16 in the Mid-American Conference and losing 12 of their last 13 games.
OFFENSIVE DEFICIENCY
A key factor to the Huskies struggles this season was the incessant ineffectiveness of the offense throughout the season.
NIU hit at a rate of .173 on the season, which placed them ninth in the MAC. On the other hand the Huskies allowed their opponents to hit at a rate of .248 on the season, which is the second-highest percentage allowed.
NIU was also limited to 1,630 points over the season, good for 10th in the MAC. The Huskies also placed 10th in total kills on the season posting 1,311 while allowing 1,384 kills to be slammed against them, landing them at seventh in the conference.
One of the biggest problems with NIU’s offense this season was the amount of errors they posted on the attack. The Huskies had 632 attack errors this season, almost 200 more than the 451 posted by their opponents.
NIU struggled to consistently gain a rhythm on offense and often looked discombobulated, with the frequent errors sticking out as a glaring issue that never improved throughout the year.
DEFENSIVE STEP DOWN
NIU was also non-dominant on the defensive side of the net this year. In the 2023 season, the Huskies placed first in the MAC in both total blocks and opponent blocks. But NIU was in the bottom half of the conference in both stats this season. The Huskies placed 11th in blocks per set with 1.59 and ninth in opponent blocks per set with 2.17.
The Huskies were also out-dug by opponents this season. As a team, NIU posted 1,590 digs but were met on the other side with opponents popping up 1,638 against them.
Despite having an array of strong defensive players, like senior libero Crew Hoffmeier and freshman middle blocker Rylea Alvin, the Huskies’ defensive unit was mediocre this season.
INDIVIDUAL BRIGHT SPOTS
From a team perspective, this season was poor. However, there were a lot of individual standouts for the Huskies this season.
Hoffmeier solidified her place as one of the top libero’s in the MAC. She was fourth in the conference in digs with 496 and second in digs per set averaging 4.77. Hoffmeier’s 496 digs also brought her over the 1,000 mark for her NIU career with a total of 1,007.
Senior middle blocker Charli Atiemo carved her name in the annals of Huskie history this season. On Nov. 8 against Bowling Green State University, she landed the 1,000th kill of her NIU career.
Atiemo was an impact player all year for NIU, placing second on the team in kills, service aces and total blocks.
Freshman outside hitter Ava Grevengoed was eighth in service aces in the MAC. She also led the Huskies in kills and was second in digs with 305 and 301 respectively.
Freshman setter Ella Strausberger led the Huskies in assists on the season with 603 and was third on the team in service aces with 23.
Grevengoed and Strausberger look to be key pieces in the future of Huskies volleyball after their successful freshman campaigns.
WRAP UP
The Huskies had an awful year in 2024. There were occasional flashes of success and the roster had a lot of talent, but it culminated in an impoverished season that left the team starved for wins.
NIU failed to be a top team in the MAC in any single positive team statistic and failed to put the pieces together this year.
There are some talented pieces on the roster going forward with this year’s great crop of freshmen coming back and other returning upperclassmen. But the Huskies have a lot to improve on, and the trek back to the top will be a tough one.
