DeKALB | Conference play has yet to begin for Huskies volleyball, but already Lauren Wicinski is making a name for herself, one reflecting her mother’s.

The freshman outside hitter joined the Huskies 14 years after her mother Gina (Graf) Wicinski left an imprint on the NIU record books. An outside hitter from 1983-86, Gina ranks seventh on the all-time kills list with 1,328 and first in service aces with 165.

In only her first 14 matches, Lauren has shown her attack abilities, leading the team with 204 kills and 35 service aces.

The 204 kills puts Lauren just two behind her mother’s team-leading kill amount of 206 during her freshman year in 1983. The record was unknown to both, but Gina hopes her daughter succeeds in breaking her records.

“I want her to crush them all, every record,” Gina said. “I can’t wait to see how she’s going to develop. She’s going to get stronger and better. It’s going to be fun.”

Lauren said she will try to break the records, but did not exactly know what the records were. Growing up, more focus was paid to learning volleyball and just watching mom play in a women’s league in Geneva.

“I think we always had a volleyball around the house, that’s for sure,” Gina said. “I was in a women’s league [in Geneva] with some girls that played all over. [Lauren] would come to the games and be there on the sides and we’d play.”

Volleyball quickly became the sport of choice for Lauren, after seeing how much fun it could be.

“Volleyball was her life, so it helped to become mine,” Lauren said. “Seeing how much fun she had in the game just made me love it and want to play.”

Ninth-year head coach Ray Gooden said Lauren’s desire to play has translated into success on the court this season.

“I think she just goes out there and plays volleyball,” Gooden said. “That’s the best part for me as her coach, to see her ability to make things happen. It’s also great to see there’s so much more for her to learn and grab onto that she’s got the potential of being a really good player at Northern.”

Lauren’s play quickly picked up where she left off in high school. The Geneva native earned Under Armour All-American recognition in 2009, making her the first All-American to play volleyball at NIU. In her senior season, Lauren gathered 356 kills with a .691 attack percentage, 63 aces and 37 blocks in 38 matches. The year before, she broke a school record collecting 380 kills.

Now under the guidance of Gooden and NIU volleyball, Gina can relax a bit when watching Lauren play.

“We had our meetings of the mind in high school,” Gina said. “Now it’s more fun for me to sit back and watch her play, not worry. That’s Coach Gooden’s role.”

But Gina admits sometimes it is hard to sit in the stands instead of being on the court.

“In my mind I’m young,” Gina said of getting the itch to play. “But then I try and my muscles aren’t.”

Along with her husband Rob, a NIU football player from 1981-85, and Lauren’s two younger sisters, Gina has been providing emotional support for Lauren.

“She’s really supportive,” Lauren said of her mother. “If I have a bad game or if I do something wrong, [she’ll say] ‘there’s another day, another chance.’ It helps a lot.”