With the NIU volleyball team experiencing success on the court the past few years, coach Todd Kress feels that the Huskies could be at the level of a Big Ten program very soon.

Returning all but one player from a 24-9 team that finished third in the Mid-American Conference West with a 12-6 MAC record, the Huskies’ future is positive.

Taking Illinois to five games last year and testing their skills against Iowa this year on October 30, NIU is on the right path to bringing themselves to the level of the higher-profiled Big Ten. With the Big Ten being a thorn in NIU’s side for recruiting, according to Kress, he looks to bring the Huskies on a more even playing field.

“We are trying to get ourselves at that level of a Big Ten program,” Kress said. “We are right there so that’s where we feel that we will have some success in the very near future in bringing in some of those blue chip kids [from Illinois].”

Recruiting Illinois high school players and getting early commitments from them is what NIU has had a hard time with in the past, but the Huskies are looking to change tradition.

Kress looks to strike it rich with home-grown, Land of Lincoln talent for the Class of 2003.

“We are finding it a challenge right now to get some of the top talent in the state of Illinois to come here,” said Kress. “But I don’t think that’s a challenge that we cannot overcome. All you need to get is one tier-one player in the state of Illinois and then the rest of them will start to follow. We are really focusing our efforts on the Class of 2003 right now.”

However, Kress is targeting one and possibly two players from Illinois in the Class of 2002, but is unable to comment on them due to NCAA rules.

In order to out-recruit the Big Ten programs, there needs to be something that you can provide that the others can’t, and Kress feels NIU has that.

“There are things that we can offer that some of the Big Ten programs can’t offer,” Kress said. “We have a tight-nit group and we have more of a family atmosphere. You go to some of the Big Ten programs and you’re going to a school with 60,000 people and sometimes you get lost in the shuffle. In some of those programs you go in and you’re just a number, but here I think it’s a little more individualized. We do a good job of taking care of our kids here.

“Here I think you get a lot of hands-on training in your freshman year because we are trying to help you contribute right away,” continued Kress. “Once we get to that level to where we are just as strong as a Big Ten program, which is right around for the program, and I guarantee that, whether it’s this year, next year or the following year, I think you’re going to see more and more kids in that tier-one start to come Northern Illinois.”