Defending the North Star Conference title comes as no easy task for the NIU volleyball team, but tonight’s match with Illinois-Chicago paves the way for the Huskies 1989 NSC crown quest.

Last season, first year coach Pete Waite led an experienced group to a first-place finish in the NSC. However, the team lost a few key players to graduation and has been striving for improvement since this season began.

UIC enters Chick Evans Field House at 7 p.m. with a 5-13 record and a recent win over Georgetown. The Flames, under the watchful eye of head coach Don August, appear to be one of the stronger teams in the conference. However, August is not all that pleased with his team’s performance this season.

“We haven’t been doing that well this year,” August said. “We’re coming off a losing streak, but last week we played a lot better. We’re anxious to start conference play. That gives us a chance to salvage a good season.

“Northern is having a rough start too, this season. I know they lost some key players and they’re going to give us a different look. I have a lot of respect for Pete Waite and what he’s doing at Northern.”

Call it a mini-streak or call it two consecutive wins, but the spikers have tasted a little bit of victory recently. NIU knocked off the Bulldogs of Drake on Oct. 7 and followed that three days later with a come-from-behind win over Loyola.

“(Illinois-Chicago) is one of the top team’s in the conference,” said Waite, now in his second year. “They’re also one of the top digging teams—ranked nationally. We’re definitely looking toward the North Star Conference play.”

Following the Flame game, NIU takes its game on the road to face conference opponents Akron and Cleveland State.