Volleyball will put its perfect MAC record — its best start to conference play since 1997 — on the line against a pair of Michigan teams this weekend.

The Huskies (11-7, 4-0 MAC) take on the Eastern Michigan Eagles (11-7, 2-2 MAC) 6 p.m. Friday in Ypsilanti, Mich. NIU will then take its talents to Mount Pleasant, Mich., for a 6 p.m. Saturday match against the Central Michigan Chippewas (7-9, 2-2 MAC).

“Eastern and Western are two really tough teams, and those are going to be [the] two battles that close out the first half of our division play,” said head coach Ray Gooden. “Both Eastern and Western had tough matches over the weekend and also success, so we know that they are going to be real excited to be back at home while we have to do our best to continue to battle on the road.”

Gooden said the grind of the schedule is normal and the Huskies are doing a solid job handling it.

Eastern Michigan

The Eagles are off to a solid start in their 2014 campaign, but their early season .500 record in conference play has them in the bottom half of the standings.

EMU took a 3-1 victory over Toledo Saturday, forcing 32 errors and a .119 attack percent against the Rockets’ offense. The win could get the Eagles’ confidence going as Friday marks only their second home MAC match of the year.

Defensively, EMU is top in the MAC during conference play with 285 digs at 17.81 digs per set as a team.

The Eagles have been a team that has come on strong in the first set, winning 12 of the 18 they have played this season.

It helps that they have been a defensive force: During the early portion of the season the Eagles have had two players honored with MAC All-Defense weekly honors in junior outside hitter Stacey Perinar and junior libero Corynne Smith.

Central Michigan

The Chippewas are also coming into the weekend with a .500 record in MAC play.

The Chippewas had a four-game non-conference winning streak heading into their date with the Eagles. That match resulted in a (25-19, 25-17, 21-25, 25-20) win. Since then, they’ve hit road blocks against Ohio and Ball State, which are a combined 7-1 in conference bouts.

Central Michigan hasn’t been the greatest at protecting its home court, falling to 1-4 in home games this season. But, it can make a serious run into MAC contention with four home conference games in a row, starting Friday against Western Michigan and Saturday against the Huskies.

The Chippewas’ defense will be anchored by junior defensive specialist Kristen Reenders. Her 295 digs and 4.76 digs per set are tops in the conference through 16 matches.