Tonight’s volleyball match is an important one for the NIU volleyball team as it takes on the Illinois State Redbirds at Chick Evans Field House at 7 p.m.

“It is one of the most important games of the season for us,” NIU outside hitter Amy Garrett said. “It will do us good to win this one.”

The Huskies are entering the event after a disappointing weekend in which they competed at the Loyola Invitational and finished second. The Huskies defeated the tournament’s host, but lost to Illinois-Chicago, an outcome which neither the team nor the coach had anticipated.

NIU will be meeting some tough competitors in the next couple weeks. The Huskies will see teams like Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota which means they will play three Big Ten teams in three weeks. The Huskies also will face Notre Dame, which is the North Star Conference leader, one place above NIU.

The Redbirds invade the NIU campus after defeating Ball State Wednesday and improving its record to 5-6. Although the Redbirds won, the team did not have its full roster. Sophomore Heather Rayka did not play. The Redbirds have also seen limited action from sophomore Stacey Anderson who has had back spasms.

“We have played Illinois State before and have done well,” Garrett said. “ISU is usually a fun team to play.”

“ISU usually has some excellent teams,” NIU coach Herb Summers said. “It should be a very interesting game.”

While ISU brings with it the series lead of 20-10, it also brings a new coach. Julie Morgan became the team’s new leader in February, but it is not her first time with ISU. She was an assistant there from 1982-1984.

Morgan has a young team, only one senior and two juniors, with which to work. One player to look for is outside hitter Chris Rehor. Before the Ball State match, the junior was team leader in digs with 157. Rehor also played in the Olympic Sports Festival. Angie Rolf has tallied 92 kills of 223 attempts for a .278 percentage which makes her the Redbird leader in kill percentage.

“We didn’t get into any kind of rhythm against UIC,” Garrett said. “I think we are going to practice working hard together.”