Not many volleyball teams could survive if they lost a fourth of their team to injuries. At best, the squad’s performance would be deeply in trouble. Especially if those players were regular contributors to the team.

NIU is facing that problem right now, with three of 12 players sidelined. But as far as anyone can tell, the only thing changing is the lineup.

The Huskie volleyball squad returns to the road Tuesday for a non-conference match at University Wisconsin-Milwaukee. With Michelle Detry out for the season and the hard-hitting duo of Julie Kreiling-Zinke and Kori Schauer’s playing capabilites still uncertain because of ankle injuries, NIU’s depth is more important than ever.

And the Huskies ability to pull together will be crucial in the dual against UW-M.

“They (UW-M) are a really big team that plays very strong at home,” said head volleyball coach Pete Waite. “The last time we played them, they went five games with us. It was a really tough match.”

The Panthers will look very familiar to last year’s Huskies. UW-M lost only one letterwinner and have 13 letterwinners returning for the 1990 season.

In any case, the Panthers’ season record is still only 11-14, compared to NIU’s 20-7.

The Huskies will have only three regular season matches remaining after Tuesday. They will then prepare for the North Star Conference Championship at Akron less than three weeks away (Nov. 17-18). Tuesday’s match at Milwaukee is scheduled for 7 p.m.