Volleyball’s Malia Gabel spends most of her time cheering for her teammates in games, but last weekend the freshman defensive specialist was the one being cheered by teammates, family and friends.Saturday’s match against Eastern Michigan was a homecoming...
Volleyball continued to win when it matters most, this time downing two divisional foes to bring its win streak to five matches.In a Friday showcase against Central Michigan, NIU (17-11, 9-5 MAC) dominated in a three-setter. The Huskies overpowered the...
Following three dominant home performances, volleyball will head to Michigan this weekend for a pair of road matches against two teams at the bottom of the MAC West standings.NIU’s (15-11, 7-5 MAC) divisional battles begin 6:30 p.m. Friday against Central...
With just more than two weeks until the MAC tournament, volleyball has all but clinched a trip to Geneva, Ohio.While they still have four conference matches remaining, the Huskies (15-11, 7-5 MAC) need just one win and a Central Michigan loss to guarantee...
Opening Thursday night against Western Michigan, the Huskies knew they had to win to gain ground in the race to the MAC Tournament.NIU (15-11, 7-5 MAC) did just that by beating WMU (14-11, 7-5) at its own game. The win was NIU’s second of the year over...
In the thick of a battle for MAC Tournament bids, volleyball knows the importance of this weekend’s home matches.NIU (13-11, 5-5 MAC) starts its weekend early with its second matchup of the season against Western Michigan (13-10, 6-4) at 6 p.m. today.NIU...
While her size seems to be a hindrance for her position, freshman outside hitter T’ara Austin’s speed and athleticism makes her the most athletic player on volleyball’s roster.Judging by her build, the 5-foot-8 freshman out of Joliet Central High...
In the middle of a tight race in the MAC West, volleyball is set to host two cross-divisional opponents over the weekend.NIU (12-10, 4-4) will start its weekend 7 p.m. Friday against Ohio. The Bobcats (16-4, 6-2) have been one of the best teams in the...
The NIU volleyball team was full of energy on Friday night as it swept Toledo, but then came back a night later looking lifeless while getting swept by Ohio.
NIU (12-12 overall, 5-7 MAC) took advantage of a struggling Rocket team en route to a 30-27, 30-22 and 30-24 victory.
"We definitely played our style of volleyball," outside hitter Amanda Newlin said of Friday’s victory. "We made them have to play with us instead of us having to play with them and that’s a huge thing."
Errors contributed to the Huskies’ demise on Saturday -- they committed 47 errors, 15 more than the previous night.
Friday night, the Huskies got a much needed conference win and middle blocker Rena Widboom recorded kill No. 1,000, joining teammates Tenisha Wilkins and Jen VonderHaar.
"It’s nice. I really didn’t know I was in the running for it," Widboom said. "It’s nice, but it’s not the important thing, the important thing is the win."
She also led the team with 13 kills and five block assists. Tera Lobdell tallied 12 kills and hit a team-high .320.
The player of the game though was Newlin.
Newlin had eight kills, 14 digs, a block solo and seven block assists.
"We did what we needed to do to get a win tonight," coach Ray Gooden said. "Newlin had a fantastic match, did a great job. A lot of people made great contributions. Rena did a solid job tonight and so did Tera."
Saturday, prior to the Ohio match, Widboom was awarded the game ball during a short ceremony.
On Saturday, NIU fell behind early and never was able to recover. Ohio jumped out to a 8-2 lead and NIU couldn’t get any closer than two points.
Ohio outside hitter Lindsay Judice, the Bobcats’ leader in kills per game (3.19), was carried off the court midway through the first game after injuring her left ankle.
Newlin wasn’t able to repeat her performance compiling only two kills and a -.118 hitting percentage. Lobdell was the only Huskie in double digits for kills with 14.
The Huskies hit .093 as a team and no Huskie starter had a hitting percentage over .250.
"I think a lot of girls on our team right now need something to happen to spark them," Gooden said.
Volleyball hopes to snap its three-match road losing streak this weekend against two MAC East foes.Heading to Buffalo for a 6 p.m. Friday showcase, NIU (11-9, 3-3 MAC) looks to pick up its 10th straight win over the Bulls (15-4, 3-3). NIU has won 11 straight...
Volleyball’s Mackenzie Roddy is versatile in every sense of the word.Starting her career as a sophomore in high school, Roddy quickly adapted to the sport and dropped tennis, which her sisters play collegiately. By the time she left high school, the...
If there is one thing volleyball has learned the past few seasons, it’s that a slow start can be countered by a strong finish.Head coach Ray Gooden’s squad suffered two losses over the weekend to divisional rivals, but if history repeats itself, NIU...
