DeKALB | This weekend the NIU men’s club volleyball team is hosting the Midwest 10 Conference Championship (MW10) at the Campus Recreation Center.

The men’s club volleyball team is ranked No. 10 in the nation with a match record of 13-4 this spring.

The Huskies have been in three tournaments this year. They placed second out of 12 teams in a Jan. 16 tournament, going 4-1 in match play and losing to DePaul in the finals. In the MW10 Conference Tournament, NIU went 5-1 in match play, and tied for fifth in the Hoosier-Illini tournament on Feb. 26-27, going 4-2 in match play.

NIU’s 6’1” outside hitter, Jared Ridge, believes that one reason for the team’s success this year is its chemistry.

“Most of our team has been playing together for the last three to four years now,” Ridge said. “We all know what everyone else is thinking, and we know where everyone is going to be at all times. This makes it a lot easier for us to play and we feel like it gives us an advantage over the other teams.”

The MW10 Conference Championship Tournament is a continuation of the MW10 Conference Tournament held in Marquette on Feb. 5. Their only loss there was to Notre Dame.

On Saturday, NIU will play Ball State and Oshkosh, the No. 3 team in the nation. The last time NIU played Oshkosh was in the Hoosier-Illini tournament, where they lost in two games.

Ridge said he was excited for their rematch with Oshkosh on Saturday.

“We lost to them a couple weeks ago in the Hoosier-Illini tournament,” Ridge said. “We can’t wait to play them again. We want to prove to them that we can beat them and that we are a contender.”

NIU is currently tied for first in the tournament with a 5-1 record, but Ridge said they won’t be satisfied until they reach their goal.

“Our goal for this tournament is to get to the finals,” Ridge said. “We expect nothing less of that. We believe we can win it all and we feel like this is our year.”