Volleyball (11-7, 4-0 MAC) has improved its record to 4-0 in MAC matches for the first time since 1997.

Unlike its first two conference games, NIU did not sweep its matches but had to take the Western Michigan Broncos (10-7, 2-2 MAC) and the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks to four and five sets, respectively.

“I think you need to expect that MAC matches, especially division matches, are going to look like this. They’re going to be hard-fought battles and tons of opportunities for people to win points and rallies,” said head coach Ray Gooden after Thursday’s home game.

“I’m really proud of our group, just being able to be the aggressors, especially in those first two sets. I thought we came out with a lot of energy and we won all the tough plays. I thought we did a really good job serving, and I thought we played complete. I think we learned a lot in that third set that people aren’t going to roll over for us… .”

Western Michigan

Thursday, NIU’s defense stood tall and limited the conference’s leading offensive team to a 47-kill, .191-attack percentage performance. They Huskies won in four sets (25-18, 25-22, 15-25, 25-20).

“I thought we played pretty consistent for the most part,” said freshman libero Anna Brereton. “They put a lot of pressure on us, but I thought we handled it pretty gracefully. Even though we were down in that third set we still looked composed and came back at the end swinging.”

Like NIU, Western Michigan was coming into DeKalb with a recent win over fellow MAC opponent Toledo. But, the Huskies didn’t let the Broncos head back to Michigan with a victory. NIU had big plays at the front of the net and on defense, registering eight blocks and 55 digs.

Broncos underclassmen Sydney LeMay and Ave Stout and senior Ali Gossen came into the match in the top 10 in the MAC in hitting percentage, but NIU held the trio to a .230 percentage through the four matches.

“We took care of business and handled another tough team. We stay composed, so I thought that was a pretty awesome thing,” said sophomore outside hitter T’ara Austin.

The Huskies raced to 5-0 leads in the second and third sets. In the third, WMU countered with a 14-2 run of its own. The run and four blocks was enough for a 25-15 Broncos’ third-set victory.

Senior outside hitter Mackenzie Roddy led the Huskies with 14 kills, 14 digs and six blocks in the win. The offense’s attack wasn’t limited to Roddy, with sophomore outside Jenna Radtke registering 13 kills and Austin notching a career-high 12 spikes.

Miami (Ohio)

The Huskies played their first five-set conference match Saturday when they were on the road against Miami (Ohio) (9-7, 2-2 MAC). NIU was victorious in the dual (20-25, 25-17, 26-25, 18-25, 15-13).

The Huskies got things rolling offensively against the RedHawks, collecting 73 kills and a .271 attack percentage in Oxford, Ohio.

The RedHawks raced to an early lead in the winner-take-all fifth set with two-point leads at 3-1, 4-2 and 5-3. Behind spikes from Austin and Lauren Zielinski, NIU climbed back into the set, forcing a 5-5 tie.

NIU took its first lead of the fifth set at 8-7 with an Austin kill, which led to an NIU run and 12-8 lead. Miami (Ohio) had back-to-back spikes late to get within 13-15, but Roddy ended the match with a spike.

Roddy once again paced the Huskie attack, finishing with a match-high 25 kills and 15 digs in the win; it was her second double-double of the weekend.

Radtke continued her solid weekend and set a career high with 17 spikes. Alexis “Pookie” Gonzalez had a season-high 58 assists to move within 15 of Jenny Bowman, who is fourth all-time on the program’s assist list.