Win. That simple word, confidently said by sophomore outside hitter Amy Ward, describes the entire NIU volleyball team’s goal for this weekend.

Coach Ray Gooden agrees with his sophomore player. Gooden has had his team focused on winning during practice this week.

“It sounds strange,” the fourth-year coach said. “But when we do drills there’s always a chance for players to redeem themselves.

“Winning comes at a cost and so does losing,” Gooden said.

The Huskies begin conference play at 7 p.m. tonight on Victor E. Court.

NIU (7-7) will host Eastern Michigan (6-4), and will host Central Michigan (3-7) Saturday at 7 p.m.

Despite having a heartbreaking weekend last week, the Huskies’ spirits have been high during practice this week.

“The morale has been great,” middle blocker Joelle Beisel said.

“We didn’t have a great weekend last week,” Ward said. “So we’ve focused on making this weekend great.”

Gooden admits he has grinded his players, but all the hard work has helped to bring the team together.

It has also created excitement within the team to begin MAC play.

“It’s new to me, I’m excited,” Beisel said.

Ward acknowledged that practice has been hard, but that it has also become something of a fun contest.

“Everything we are doing is a competition,” the Sycamore native said. “Everything is very game oriented.”

That competition will come in handy as the Huskies drive to their goal of winning this weekend.

“It’s more pressure – the goal is to win,” Beisel said. “Not only do we want to win, but we want to outplay the other teams in every area.

“It is important to do well in all MAC matches,” Gooden said. “But it’s equally important to win at our home court.”