With first place in the MAC West on the line, NIU volleyball will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. to face Western Michigan.

The Huskies (23-5, 12-2 MAC) enter Thursday’s match with an 11-match winning streak while the Broncos (23-5, 12-2 MAC) have won their last 10 matches.

The winner will claim the top position overall in the MAC.

“We know that this match means something,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “But in order to have gotten to this point, all of the other matches have meant something as well. It has no more significance than any other match.”

In a previous encounter this season, NIU defeated Western Michigan 3-0 at home.

In that match, Lauren Wicinski, the nation’s leader in kills per set, notched her 1,000th career kill while recording a career-high .667 hitting percentage in a dominant offensive performance.

As a team, the Huskies hit .336 while limiting the Broncos to a .196 mark. On the season, Western Michigan has held opponents to a .183 hitting percentage while hitting .240.

The match was the last loss for the Broncos, who came back to win back-to-back five setters last weekend at home against Ball State and Toledo. NIU tamed the Cardinals and Rockets last weekend, sweeping both teams at home.

Western Michigan has been a handful for opponents defensively over its winning streak, mainly in part to libero Lena Oliver, whose 5.82 digs per set puts her at seventh in the country. Thursday’s matchup will once again put the Broncos’ stellar defensive lineup against the Huskies, who possess one of the most dangerous offenses in the nation.

“I think [we will attack them] the same way we have been,” Wicinski said. “We need to keep moving the ball around to get different shots. I think by moving the ball around and not going to where their libero is and where she likes to dig the ball we will do really well.”

With the match being on the road, the Huskies know that everything will come a little tougher for them. On the road this season, NIU has put up an impressive 10-1 record. The Broncos have posted an 11-1 record at home.

With the match being at Western Michigan, where the average attendance is over 1,000 every match, NIU knows that staying focused and concentrated is a key factor in obtaining a win.

“I think [staying focused] has been our thing for the past four or five weeks now,” Gooden said. “We know that consistency is a big deal and we know focus and energy is a big deal as well. [Western Michigan is] going to bring it; that’s for sure. They do really well at home, so we have to match that and surpass that.”

Wicinski, who is well aware of the Broncos’ massive crowds, is not worried about the surrounding environment and feels confident that the Huskies can pull out the big win.

“If we can just stay focused and work as a team, we will be alright,” Wicnski said. “We feel confident, not too confident, because we have to give them respect, but if we play the way we know how to play, we should do really well.”