Volleyball will dig into the season this weekend when the Huskies host the NIU Invitational at Victor E. Court in the Convocation Center.

The Huskies will host the Presbyterian Blue Hose 7 p.m. Friday, the Colorado Buffaloes noon Saturday and the Northwestern Wildcats 7 p.m. Saturday. This will mark the sixth-consecutive season the Huskies have opened up the year on their home court.

“It’s a great home opener [and] especially fun for us because we are at home and have the home court advantage,” said junior setter Alexis “Pookie” Gonzalez. “I know for me when I play volleyball nothing else matters, and I’m sure that I don’t speak for myself on that and the team feels the same way.

“When we’re out on the court it’s just us. It feels like all the advantages are in our favor for the tournament, and it just makes for a really fun atmosphere. We usually get a good crowd. We are a lively bunch, so the crowd feeds off of our energy and we feed off of the crowd’s energy. It just makes for a good atmosphere when we play and for those who come to watch us play.”

In a Tuesday poll among MAC coaches the Huskies were picked to claim a second-place finish in the MAC West Division. NIU won’t face any conference foes this weekend, but the team is looking to come out on top during the two-day tournament.

“I think we are all getting to the point where we want to play,” said head coach Ray Gooden. “You know, see somebody across the net that’s different than our own group. I think that’s the norm for everybody right now. We are trying to get a few more things worked on and try and stay healthy through it. Then we are going out there to play on Friday.”

The Huskies are looking forward to hitting the court, but they aren’t taking any of their opponents lightly.

“I think Presbyterian has a new coaching staff,” Gooden said. It is “their second year there, they are going to be vastly improved from what they were a year ago. Colorado is a NCAA tournament team that has a perennial player on their roster in Taylor Simpson.

“Northwestern is another [top] school from arguably the best conference in the country. They [have] some players in there that have some pretty good resumes, and also it’s a good local team to battle against. … I just want us to get a little better; it’s always nice to have a good start.”