Volleyball prepares for three-game weekend

By Danielle Brown

Volleyball (4-5, 0-0 MAC) will host the Huskie Invitational this weekend, welcoming teams including Western Kentucky, Northern Iowa and Alabama.

The games will begin on Friday when the Huskies face off against Alabama (4-6) at 7:00 p.m., and will conclude on Saturday with games against Western Kentucky (9-2) and Northern Iowa (4-6) beginning at 11:00 a.m. The Huskies are returning from a weekend where they went 1-2, taking losses to Wichita State and Kentucky, but picking up a win against Texas State.

Sophomore middle blocker Jenna Radtke earned MAC West Offensive Player of the Week for her performance last week after she had 37 kills and hit for a percentage of .464. This weekend marks the third consecutive week that Radtke has been given All-Tournament honors. Throughout the tournament, she had just five errors and averaged 3.36 kills per set.

The Huskies have been working in practice this week on “things that they feel need to be improved: defensive tenacity, long-term execution,” said head coach Ray Gooden.

“I’m excited for this tournament, excited to see the girls play every single team,” Gooden said. “Western Kentucky is one of eight teams on our schedule that are ranked in the top 25. Northern Iowa is a historically strong program that I have the upmost respect for, and NIU is fortunate to have Alabama in their gym.”