Amidst all of the basketball hoopla, the NIU volleyball team is keeping busy.

Especially coach Pete Waite, who has been on the recruiting trail ever since the season ended.

To show for his work, Waite landed two top prospects that will fill the outside and the middle for the Huskies.

Amy Foulke, a 6-foot-0 middle hitter and Dominique “Nikki” Kozak, a 5-foot-7 outside hitter, both played on high school volleyball state championship tournament teams and have signed National Letters-of-Intent to come to DeKalb.

Foulke comes to NIU from Salem (WI) Central High School’s undefeated 1989 Wisconsin Class A state championship team. The recruit was a First-Team All-State Class A selection leading Salem Central to a perfect 40-0 season. Foulke started three years on the varsity team and was also a member of Salem Central’s 1987 third place finisher.

The list continues on Foulke’s achievements. Among others, she was Player of the Year for the Kenosha News for the 1989 season. This girl is an athlete too. She played two other varsity sports for Salem Central, basketball and track.

“Amy brings a lot of quickness to our front row. She is a great athlete who has great snap on the ball,” Waite said. “Her winning background is a real asset she brings to Northern Illinois.”

The second signee comes out of Wheaton St. Francis High School, which won the 1988 Illinois Class A state crown. Kozak was a Third-Team All-State pick by both the Chicago Sun-Times and the Chicago Tribune for her senior season. She also earned Player of the Year and honorary captain titles while making The Daily Herald All-Area unit.

Kozak has some other athletic talent as well. She competed on the basketball and softball teams.

“They are two excellent players that we’re really excited about,” Waite said. “I’m excited to have both Amy and Nikki joining our program in the fall. The two of them will make immediate contributions to our program.”

As for the rest of the Huskies, the underclassmen are working hard in spring training in preparation for an eight-team all-day tournament that NIU is hosting on March 3. Teams from Notre Dame, Marquette, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Illinois State, Western Illinois and Illinois-Chicago will be competing.