One of the most important parts of being successful in college sports is peaking at the right time.

Right now, the NIU volleyball team feels that it has hit its stride and will get a chance to see just how far it has come when it faces two of the top teams in the MAC this weekend.

NIU (11-11, 5-3) puts its five-game winning streak on the line when it hosts Kent State (15-6, 6-2) at 7 p.m. today on Victor E. Court.

It will be an uphill battle for the Huskies, who will then go on to play Ohio (15-4, 7-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday.

“This is going to be one challenging stretch for us,” head coach Ray Gooden said. “Both teams are playing lots of good volleyball right now, and it’s going to be tough for us.”

While both Kent State and Ohio have been successful this season, each team has a different style of play.

Kent State is one of the leading defensive teams in the MAC and is forcing opponents to a conference-low .144 hitting percentage.

They are also a strong serving team, boasting two of the top three MAC servers in senior Anja Knabe-Paulsen and freshman Lauren Jones.

“They are a pretty good team at the net and have a solid defense,” Gooden said. “Their service game is going to challenge us, but we’ve faced some good serving teams before, so we are prepared for that.”

Ohio, on the other hand, has one of the most potent offenses in the conference.

Their MAC-leading 16.01 kills-per-game have propelled them to the best record in the MAC, including a current five-game winning streak.

“Ohio is Ohio,” Gooden said. “They are probably the most efficient, diverse team in the conference. We are really going to need to put two nights of good volleyball together to win this weekend.”

Ohio is led by a pair of offensive forces with sophomore Ellen Herman, who averages 4.25 kills-per-game, and senior Melissa Griffin, who averages 3.68 per game, while hitting for a .344 clip.