Consistency is the key word for tonight’s volleyball match between NIU and Bradley in Chick Evans Field House at 7:30 p.m.

For the Huskies, playing consistent will be important to bring the team back up to the .500 record mark. For the Lady Braves, it could mean a boost for the rest of the season.

“We will win if we are consistent and aggressive,” NIU setter Beth Glisk said. “We have got to get up for Bradley, because they always give us tough matches.”

Both NIU and Bradley are going through a rough period. While the Huskies (11-12) have been playing aggressive, they have not been tough enough and have lost their last three matches.

Bradley enters the match with a disappointing team record of 5-18. The Lady Braves lost a valuable outside hitter, Kathy Vaitkus, for the rest of the season due to a broken hand. Now the Bradley squad relies on Andra Dystrup and Cheryl Christiansen.

Dystrup has the most kills for the Lady Braves with 184. Christiansen is leading in attack percentage with a .221 percentage. She has a total of 95 kills.

While Bradley has Dystrup and Christiansen, NIU has Cathy Holmes. Holmes is the Huskies’ team leader in kill percentage. She has 193 kills with 46 errors in 471 total attempts for a .312 attack percentage. She also leads the squad in blocking with 28 blocking solos and 85 blocking assists. Anne Polaski follows Holmes in kill percentage at .208.

Another NIU team leader is Glisk. The sole setter for the Huskies has gathered 628 assists. Julie Penn and Wendy Carney split time as the two quarterbacks for Bradley. Carney has 319 assists and Penn has 289.

“We always have trouble with Bradley,” NIU coach Herb Summers said. “We sort of have a conflict of styles. They play a different game, and in the past we have gotten frustrated.”

“They are a real scrappy team,” middle hitter Jamie Steenblock said. “They dig balls you never think they will get, but we’ve practiced hard on defense. If we keep playing with the intensity we’ve been using, then we will do fine.”

Specifically, the Huskies have been working on serve reception and passing. Serve reception was a big part of the Huskies’ demise to Minnesota on Saturday. Minnesota recorded 17 service aces.

“We always work on serve receive,” Summers said. “I would say we spend 50 percent of our practice on serve receive.”

“The team to win tonight will be the one that plays consistently,” Bradley coach Pam Stauek said. “It will be the one who is aggressive.”