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Volleyball nets four All-MAC honorees

November 21, 2013
Sarah Angelos

Sarah Angelos

Northern Illinois University senior Sarah Angelos (Waukegan, Ill./Waukegan) and junior MacKenzie Roddy (San Bernardino, Calif./Cajon) earned spots on the Mid-American Conference’s first team all-conference squad Thursday.

Teammates Jenna Radtke (Buffalo Grove, Ill./Stevenson) and Mary Grace Kelly (Strongsville, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit) were selected for the All-Freshman team.

The two picks mark the sixth consecutive season in which multiple Huskies have earned All-MAC honors – which are picked by the league’s coaches – and the second-straight year that NIU has had someone earn All-Freshman team recognition.

“I think it is a great honor for our players to be recognized by the coaches for their performance throughout the conference season,” said NIU head coach Ray Gooden. “All four players have had positive seasons and we also feel it is a reflection of our team’s play. For that, we are thankful.”

Angelos led NIU and ranked seventh in the MAC with a .326 attack percentage in conference matches, while averaging 2.98 kills/set to put her second on the team and seventh in the MAC. The senior finished as one of only two players in the MAC to be ranked in the Top 10 in both kills and attack percentage and accumulated nine matches with a .300 or greater hitting average, including a .591 clip against Kent State (Oct. 26) and a .500 mark against Eastern Michigan (Oct. 4).

MacKenzie Roddy

MacKenzie Roddy

Roddy paced the team and ranked fifth in the MAC with 3.43 kills/set, while accounting for a team-high 231.5 points – 3.80 per set and 14.47 per match – in MAC play. She ranked second on the team with 2.72 digs/set, including a season high 24 kills (4.8 kills/set) at Western Michigan (Sept. 26). Roddy averaged 3.53 kills/set since Oct. 19, a stretch in which the Huskies have gone 7-2 and held a 3.34 digs/set average in the last nine matches.

Radtke finished seventh in the MAC and led NIU with 0.95 blocks/set, recording seven matches with 1.0 blocks/set or more. She was second on the team with a .277 attack percentage and tallied seven matches with a .300 or greater attack percentage, including three of .400 or more. Radtke averaged 2.31 kills/set and a .305 attack percentage since Oct. 19.

Kelly ended the year third on the team with 2.77 kills/set in conference play, along with averaging 1.62 digs/set, good for fourth on the team. She set a career high with 20 kills (4.0 kills/set) at Buffalo (Oct. 18) and recorded six matches with 3.0 kills/set or more. Since Oct. 18, she has notched 2.86 kills/set, 1.70 digs/set and a .235 hitting percentage.

The Huskies open the MAC Tournament at 1 p.m. CT Friday, Nov. 22, when they face defending conference tournament champion Bowling Green inside the SPIRE Institute.

For more information on NIU volleyball and Huskie athletics, visit www.niuhuskies.com.