Losing seems to be all too common for the NIU volleyball team, but the Huskies are looking to start off the new month with a win.

The Huskies will face the Sycamores from Indiana State tonight at Chick Evans Field House at 6 p.m. The Sycamores beat NIU in four games earlier this season (14-16, 15-12, 15-4, 15-8). NIU coach Pete Waite feels it will be different this time around.

“I think we can beat ISU if we come out strong and stay strong throughout the whole match,” said Waite.

The Huskies lost two tough matches last weekend when they were beaten in four games by Western Illinois and in five games to Ball State. Waite said that the Huskies are a little frustrated but they must stay positive and keep their heads up and the wins will start coming their way.

The Ball State match last Saturday went five games before the Cardinals squeezed out a 15-10, 4-15, 15-3, 5-15, 15-13 to drop the Huskie record to 3-11. The Huskies played a competitive match, but lost that intensity in some key situations. NIU had an 8-2 lead in the fifth game with two key solo blocks by Anita Kesteris, but the Cardinals refused to die and came back strong with some net plays.

The Cardinals played a key conference match the night before and BSU coach Randy Lichfield said the Cardinals came out flat.

“The first game, we came out flatter than a doornail. We were playing so inconsistent Pete and I talked about trading players after the second game. We also put in a new defense for this game and it didn’t work out too well,” said Lichfield.

NIU coach Pete Waite is a graduate of Ball State and Lichfield is an old teammate of his. Lichfield said “I learned a lot from Pete. We played the same outside hitter position and he was older than I was and he taught me a lot about the game.”

Waite was happy with the performance of his team and is not at all concerned with their win/loss record.

“It really doesn’t matter at this point whether we win or lose. I tell the girls not to be disappointed or get down on themselves. We’re getting closer, we just need to be patient and keep pushing to be the best,” said Waite.

The Western Illinois Westerwinds out-rallied the Huskies in four last Friday 15-9, 13-15, 15-3, 15-12. There were many exciting points and the Huskies looked like a winning team for awhile.

“When we were maintaining our intensity, we won some string of points rather easily. We just don’t finish the matches with the same intensity,” said Waite.

Waite was especially pleased with the performance of his freshman outside hitter Wendy Mason saying, “She played well in both matches.” Mason had 20 kills on the weekend, 16 on Saturday.

“I used the new techniques that Pete has been teaching me. I just think we need to communicate a little better and go together as a team rather than individuals,” said Mason.

Senior blocker Jamie Steenblock also had an excellent showing with 32 kills on the weekend. The players are playing well, but in spurts. Senior outside hitter Julie Kreiling said, “We’re getting there, we just need to improve everytime and I know that we’ve improved since the Wisconsin-Milwaukee game.”