All season, NIU has been striving for a spread offense where the damage comes from many players, not just one or two.

Fortunately for the Huskies, they’ve had six different members reach double-digit kills. However, they have only had three or more in the same match four times.

“Everyone has had high times and then times of maybe being in a little bit of a slump,” said Ray Gooden, NIU head coach of women’s volleyball. “We need to solidify some things and start getting four people in double digits. Right now, that is the goal for us.”

It’s no surprise that the two times the Huskies have had four members reach that mark they won. Most recently, they had four members in double-digits last Saturday against Eastern Michigan University.

Laura Baetzel has been on the sidelines recently with an injury. The senior outside-hitter isn’t suffering from one particular injury, but more of a combination of upper body ailments.

“Laura is just trying to get healthy at this point,” Gooden said. “She’s day-to-day.”

The Huskies have a fresh face on the sidelines as of mid-September with the addition of sophomore Mallory Thompson. The DeKalb native is joining the volleyball team as a sophomore and will provide some depth for the Huskies as an outside-hitter.

“Right now, she’s still getting up to speed with everything,” Gooden said. “It’s tough for her getting thrown in the middle of the season, but she’s doing her best right now.”

As the season progresses, Thompson could potentially see some playing time, but it’s up in the air this early on.