As the old adage goes, “To be the best, you’ve got to beat the best.”

That’s the goal for the NIU volleyball team as they travel to Kalamazoo, Mich., tonight to face the Western Michigan Broncos. WMU was pegged as the preseason favorite to win the MAC West.

The Huskies (8-6) are rolling, having won six of their last seven matches, but will face a challenge in the Broncos (9-2), who are owners of the best winning percentage in the MAC. Also working against the Huskies is that tonight is WMU’s first home game of the season, after it got off to its best non-conference start since 1996.

“I think there’s going to be a ton of energy,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “The fact that Western Michigan is picked No. 1 [in the MAC West], and they’re a good rival for us, so there’s going to be a lot of energy going into that match for Thursday.”

That energy may be a deciding factor, as the Broncos and Huskies are nearly even in every statistical category, with WMU holding a slight edge in kills per set and assists per set.

“I know we both played pretty challenging schedules,” Gooden said. “They’ve won three tournaments and played really good volleyball. I really think it’s going to come down to who can just last the longest, which team handles the ball better, so I think those two things are going to be big factors.”

Taking charge of the Bronco attack will be junior outside hitter Michelle Moore, whose 3.80 kills per set lead the team. Helping Moore will be junior outside hitter Katie Eberling and reigning MAC player of the week, sophomore middle blocker, Jaime Gotham. Gotham is coming off a stellar weekend, being named MVP of the Golden Dome Invitational at Notre Dame.

The Huskies have been playing their best volleyball of the season lately, and hope to continue that trend. NIU has out-aced its opponents 25-8 over the last four matches, and the team has had three players with double-digit kills in three of their last four.

Leading the attack for an NIU team that ranks second in the MAC in attack percentage, kills and assists will be junior outside hitter Meagan Schoenrock. Helping her out will be last year’s team MVP, senior outside hitter Irene Johnson and freshman outside hitter Allison McGlaughlin.

The Huskies have dodged a potential question mark at setter as starter Amanda Tadla, second in the MAC in assists per set, is delivering day-to-day. NIU’s backup setter, freshman Kristin Hoffman, is coming off of a strong 49-assist outing Tuesday against DePaul.

“I think we’re able to do some things offensively and defensively at a pretty high level,” Gooden said. “Now it’s just a matter of being able to do it in conference.”