The NIU volleyball team extended its streak of hosting the first round of the MAC tournament to three years in a row, as NIU will begin the MAC tournament at 7 p.m. today on Victor E. Court.

The Huskies finished the regular season by beating Akron (10-19 Overall, 4-12 MAC) and Buffalo (11-19, 3-13) to secure the home playoff spot.

NIU comes into the 12 team-tournament as the No. 8 seed.

The top four seeds will have a bye in the first round of the tournament, and will begin play Friday at the SeaGate Centre in Toledo, Ohio against the four remaining teams from the first round.

The Huskies, who finished the regular season at 15-16 overall and 7-9 in the MAC, will face off against Akron in the first round. The Huskies beat the Zips last week.

Senior Marie Zidek is excited to have the chance to play against a team the Huskies recently played.

“They’re fresh in our minds,” the Orland Park native said. “We have a lot of confidence against them, and we’ll make sure that we play extra consistent against a team who is looking for revenge.”

Akron had a 2-1 lead in the last match, but could not close the fourth game against the Huskies as the Zips missed two game-point situations.

NIU ended game four with a 35-33 victory and went on to win game five 15-10 to finish the match.

Zidek knows the team has come a long way in past weeks and has made improvements, but the Huskies can’t stop to think about the past for long.

“I think people have been playing very consistent and stepping up, but our conference record doesn’t matter in the playoffs,” Zidek said. “In the playoffs anyone can beat anyone.”