After a long weekend in California, the NIU volleyball team is home tonight to play the Lewis Flyers at Chick Evans Field House at 7 p.m.

It has been four years since the Huskies and Flyers met. NIU coach Herb Summers said he is not sure what to expect from the Lewis team which went 23-9 last season, but he does expect the match to be grueling.

“When we met with them in the past we have always gone five epoch matches,” said Summers. “Lewis is always real competitive. They are characteristically known to play real hard.”

Lewis, located in Romeoville, Ill., is a Division II team hoping to compete in the national tournament this year, and it would be impressive for them to defeat a Division I team such as NIU.

Flyer coach Karen Lockyer has five returning starters from the 1986 squad. One top returnee is Beth Gadaleta. Gadaleta is a 5-foot-8 junior who recorded 20 or more kills in five regular season games and tallied a .244 kill percentage.

Brenda Kuehn is another possible strong returner. Kuehn is both an outside hitter and a setter. She placed third on the team with 103 digs and recorded a .324 percentage in kills during the 1986 season.

Height might be a factor in the game. Lewis is a small team compared to NIU. The average height for the Flyers is 5-foot-8 while the Huskies have an average of 5-foot-10.

Summers said tonight’s game is important for the Huskies because it is the start of a busy schedule. In the next three weeks NIU will be competing in 12 matches, including a weekend tournament held at NIU.

The Huskies hold a 2-2 record and would like to break the .500 mark with a win.

“The next three weeks are important for us to do well,” Summers said. “The schedule was set up to get off to a good start. In terms of record we are about where I thought we would be.”