Volleyball has what it takes to make it to a fourth-straight MAC Championship match, but it will be a challenge to get there.NIU (9-7, 1-1 MAC) saw two contrasting outcomes in its conference-opening weekend against the top two teams in the MAC preseason...
DeKalb | The journey for a MAC championship officially begins for volleyball today.NIU (8-6) will face Western Michigan (7-6) at 7 p.m. on the road. WMU started out the season in great shape, winning five of six matches, including a season-opening five-set...
DeKalb | Volleyball and DJing don’t really mix, but these are two of volleyball head coach Ray Gooden’s favorite passions.Gooden shared his interesting hobby with the Northern Star.Northern Star: When did you become a DJ?Ray Gooden: High school, freshman...
DeKalb | After a rare straight-set home loss to Northern Iowa on Tuesday, volleyball hopes to rebound against three teams in the Huskie Invitational this weekend.NIU (5-6) has lost three of its last four matches, and after UNI beat the Huskies in convincing...
There was a lack of energy from volleyball early in Tuesday night’s match against Northern Iowa.By the end of the match, that lack of energy was on full display through the body language and facial expressions of every Huskie. It became apparent after...
DeKalb | Bench players are supposed to come on and give a team a boost, and that’s exactly what senior Tori Halbur has done this season.Through her first three seasons, Halbur, an outside hitter, sporadically saw action. Last season, she played in more...
The wild west proved to be much more than volleyball could handle.After starting the season with moderate success at home, NIU (5-5) lost two of three matches over the weekend at the New Mexico State Tournament.NIU opened the weekend Friday with two matches...
DeKalb | After starting its season with seven home matches, volleyball will head to New Mexico this weekend for its first away matches of the year.NIU (4-3) played well against some of the top competition in the country during its seven-match homestand...
DeKalb | Saturday was a chance for volleyball to showcase its talent against two NCAA tournament teams from last season.In its first match of a home doubleheader, volleyball faced No. 3 USC in what was the most anticipated non-conference match for the...
After not dropping a set to Western Illinois since 2005, volleyball dropped the very first one it played against the Leathernecks Wednesday night at Victor E. Court.NIU (3-2) ended up winning in five sets, but not before a grueling battle that forced...
While every other senior on 2012’s volleyball roster stepped away from the program after last season’s end, Sam Grams remained.Grams became the first graduate assistant to perform under coach Ray Gooden in his 12 years with NIU.Gooden was in need...
Coming off a solid 2-1 showing in the NIU Invitational, volleyball matched up at home against Missouri State Monday.After taking the first set, NIU (2-2) struggled to find consistency and lost the match in four sets, 22-25, 25-18, 25-13, 25-23.Junior...
