DeKALB | Ray Gooden, head coach of the the women’s volleyball team, tied the school record in career wins with 266 Friday in DeKalb’s Convocation Center.

Gooden, who entered his 15th season with NIU just two wins shy of the record, tied former head coach Pete Waite after beating Loyola University-Chicago in their second match of the NIU Invitational Friday in four sets, (21-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-18).

The Huskies lost its first set of the match against Loyola but came back to win the final three to secure Gooden’s record-tying victory.

“It was another big battle for us against a team that again we know very well,” Gooden said. “We knew that Loyola was going to be a physical team and they were. They were beating up our block at times, but once we settled down in the third and fourth set, we got better.”

NIU, 2-0 before Sunday’s matchup against the University of Iowa, battled hard in its first match Friday afternoon, winning in four sets, (25-17, 25-23, 27-29, 25-20) versus DePaul University in the Convocation Center.

The team’s defense was strong against DePaul, resulting in 50 digs and 15 blocks.

The Huskies were led by Brianna Horwath, a redshirt junior right-side hitter who missed last season due to an injury, who accrued 12 kills in the match. On the defensive side, sophomore middle-blocker Meg Wolowicz dominated in blocks, acquiring nine.

NIU controlled the first set against DePaul with an early lead of 13-9. The team kept up the intensity for the rest of the set against the Blue Demons, winning the set 25-17, with a combined 10 kills from Wolowicz and senior outside hitter Mary Grace Kelly.

The start of the second set saw similar play from the Huskies, as they led 12-6 early on. Errors from the Huskies allowed DePaul to get within just one point at 22-21. A kill by senior middle-blocker Jenna Radtke gave NIU the win for the second set, 25-23.

The third set was full of kills and was close the entire way through. After being tied at 25, the teams went into overtime.

A kill by DePaul’s senior middle-blocker Jasmine King, followed by a serve point resulted in a Blue Demon win, 29-27.

In the final set, NIU recorded five blocks and three aces to win the set and match, 25-20. One ace came from junior outside hitter Taylor Krage, who earned the match point for the Huskies. This was the lowest set in kills for the match for NIU, but the team’s defense pulled through and helped secure the win.

Horwath had 12 kills for the match, while Radtke and Wolowicz each added 10 of their own. On defense, junior libero Anna Brereton came up with 18 digs.

“We knew that tonight was going to be one of the tougher opening matches we’ve played since I’ve been here because of the familiarity with the teams,” Gooden said.

The win against DePaul moved Gooden’s season opener record to 14-1 since becoming head coach.

Gooden will look to break the school’s record against Bradley University at 2:30 p.m. Friday in the NDSU Classic in Fargo, North Dakota.