NIU volleyball coach Todd Kress believes his Huskies have to step up their play this weekend to get back into the conference race.

After spending last week on the road, NIU (4-4 overall, 1-2 Mid-American Conference) will return home for its first conference home-match of the season.

Last week wasn’t the Huskies’ most successful, but Kress stresses they can bounce back this weekend if they can minimize their mistakes.

“We need to pick up our level of play,” said the third-year coach. “We are making far too many mistakes and it’s hurting us, especially in the rally scoring system.”

This season, the Huskies have made 193 attack errors, 74 service errors and 25 service reception errors. Their opponents in these same categories have made 159, 53 and 37.

On Friday, NIU will take on Bowling Green State, who beat the Huskies in four games in their only meeting last season.

“Bowling Green State is a very balanced team,” Kress said. “We have to take care of our half of the net, and try to contain Caty Rommeck.”

Rommeck was named to the MAC’s First Team last season, as she ranked 6th in kills averaging 3.89, and first in blocks with 1.65 a game.

The Huskies have talent as well, and will look toward Jen Vonderhaar, Jenny Bowman and Tera Lobdell to lead them to a few wins.

Vonderhaar leads the team in kills per game with 3.11, and hitting percentage with .356. Bowman leads the team in assists with 13.14, while Lobdell is currently first in service aces per game with .41.

On Saturday, the Huskies will take on Buffalo, who they defeated last year in three games.

“We need to stay focused on Saturday and stick to our game plan,” Kress said. “This is a big weekend for us and hopefully we can get two wins.”