Waking up early to play a 9 a.m. game Friday won’t affect the NIU volleyball team much.

“We’re used to being up at that time,” coach Ray Gooden said. “There won’t be any lack of familiarity, except we’ll not be in our own beds sleeping.”

The Huskies (4-3) will spend the weekend at Bradley University in Peoria for the Bradley Invitational Tournament.

NIU will play four different games, starting with a 9 a.m. match today and ending with a 7:30 p.m. match Saturday night.

“I really think the 9 a.m. game will be fine,” said middle blocker Kate McCullagh, the team leader in kills. “We practice at 7:30 in the morning and are used to it. It’s an advantage for us; I’m not too worried about it.”

The Huskies play Oakland in the early game and also will face Belmont, Southeast Missouri State and host Bradley.

McCullagh feels she has helped lead the team during this week of practice.

“I’m leading by example,” the junior Woodstock native said.

Gooden said his team will take this weekend’s grueling schedule one match at a time.

“There are five hungry teams at this tournament and all of the teams have a chance to win the tournament despite their records,” Gooden said.

The Huskies learned the hard way earlier this week that their opponents’ record doesn’t mean much.

NIU lost to Western Illinois Tuesday night, despite Western having a 0-3 record before the game.

Gooden admits the bump in the road started with him.

“To start, I didn’t do a good job getting the team ready,” said the former Ohio State player. “I grinded the players so much [last week] that I thought it was important to get them rest.”

Although the Huskies have prepared for this weekend’s tournament, attempting to win the tournament will not be a walk in the park.

“It’s going to be tough; anytime you’re on the road it’s tough,” Gooden said.