There were a few more spectators than usual at Chick Evans Field House Saturday for the NIU women’s volleyball victory. The only difference was these spectators saw the NIU victory over Wisconsin-Green Bay from the bench, not from the stands.

Senior standout Julie Kreiling-Zinke, front-line force Kori Schauer and Michelle Detry all saw the action take place from the sidelines. Kreiling-Zinke and Schauer are both indefinitely out because of ankle injuries, while Detry is forced to sit out for the entire season after injuring her knee at practice.

The Huskies still strived together to make the most of the situation by filling in postions smoothly and defeating the Phoenix in an easy three-game sweep, (15-11, 15-7, 15-2). The sweep was the 15th three-game victory for the Huskies, as well as the sixth such sweep within the 5-1 league record.

“I guess we’ll go three with anyone in the league, but I prefer it this way,” said head volleyball coach Pete Waite. “I’m really happy with this win for two reasons—we were coming off a tough loss and we were missing three players who usually contribute.

“With the injuries on the team everyone else is really coming together because they know they don’t have anyone else to rely on,” Waite said. “They had an excellent week of practice and are really working hard to make up the difference.”

The hard work appeared to pay off for NIU. After a slow start in game one, the Huskies’ offense took off with Kari Niesen at the helm. Niesen had an impressive .583 hitting performance with 15 kills minus one error in 24 attempts. She also contributed an awesome set of four ace serves. Nikki Kozak pounded down 12 kills against three errors in 23 attempts for a .391 average, and Becky Ramsey hit .333 to round out the attack.

Once again, Shauna Campbell was the one who made those statistics possible with 43 assists. Campbell also led the team defensively with seven digs, while the team put together four team blocks. Andrea Baker, who is filling in for Schauer, had three block assists of her own.

“We were a little sluggish at first, but we really did control the ball well out of the back row, especially as the match went on,” Waite said. “And then Shauna (Campbell) made some nice set selections.”

The victory moved the Huskies to 20-7 for the year and 5-1 in the North Star, while UW-GB fell to 0-5 in the NSC and 8-14 overall. It is NIU’s second 20-win campaign in Waite’s three seasons with the Huskies.

The Huskies take a break from conference play Tuesday for a 7 p.m. match at University Wisonsin-Milwaukee.