NIU Today

The Northern Illinois volleyball team welcomed a new season in style as the Huskies won a hard-fought 3-2 contest over North Dakota State to open the NIU Invitational as 11th-year head coach Ray Gooden pulled the string before the match to unravel NIU’s 2011 MAC Championship banner in the rafters of Victor E. Court Friday...

The last two seasons have seemingly brought NIU volleyball back to the “glory days” of the 1990s dominant decade (24.5 wins per year, seven first-place conference finishes, three NCAA tournaments) as the Huskies’ 55 wins over the last two seasons were last matched in 1992-93 (62 wins). With its first Mid-American Conference regular season championship...

The Northern Illinois volleyball team dropped a 3-1 decision to No. 25 Miami in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Iowa State’s Hilton Coliseum on Friday night. The loss in NIU’s sixth NCAA Tournament appearance was its first at a neutral site. Previously, the Huskies were 2-0 in neutral site matches. NIU is...

Trailing 2-0 to No. 6 seed Central Michigan and out of rhythm, the No. 1 seeded Northern Illinois volleyball team nearly dug itself completely out of a hole as the Huskies fell four points shy of winning the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship in five sets (21-25, 22-25, 25-21, 25-23, 11-15). “I want to first say...

The No. 1-seeded Northern Illinois volleyball team took down No. 4 Ball State 3-1 Saturday afternoon at SPIRE Institute to advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament championship match for the second straight season. NIU’s (27-5) fifth appearance in the league’s title match will be at noon Sunday, Nov. 20, against the winner of the No....

The No. 1-seeded Northern Illinois volleyball team swept No. 8 Bowling Green in its Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinals match at SPIRE Institute Friday afternoon to advance to the Saturday semifinals. In the Huskies’ (26-5) second straight MAC semifinals appearance, and fifth overall, they will face No. 4 Ball State (24-6) at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. In...

Facing a raucous crowd at WMU’s University Arena, the Northern Illinois volleyball team defeated Western Michigan Thursday night, 3-1, to clinch the Mid-American Conference‘s West Division and regular season crown. This is NIU’s first West Division title since 2006 and their first MAC regular season title since 1998. It is also their first outright MAC...

Spoiling Central Michigan’s senior night, the Northern Illinois volleyball team ended the weekend with a 3-1 win at McGuirk Arena Saturday night in a Mid-American Conference West Division contest. With the victory, the Huskies (21-5, 10-2 MAC) upped their season-long winning streak to nine matches and improved to a stellar 10-1 away from Victor E....

In the first meeting since the Northern Illinois volleyball team lost to Ohio in the 2010 Mid-American Conference championship match, the Huskies avenged the tough loss with a 3-0 sweep Saturday night at Victor E. Court. Capping a 2-0 “Spike Cancer Weekend,” presented by Kishwaukee Community Hospital, the Huskies improved to 19-5, 8-2 in league...

Behind a phenomenal performance by reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Lauren Wicinski, the Northern Illinois volleyball team topped Toledo 3-1 at Savage Arena Saturday evening. Wicinski totaled a career-best 39 kills and hit .484 to lead the Huskies (13-5, 2-2 MAC) to an important split in their first MAC road weekend. The reigning...

Last year,  the Office of Student Engagement and Experiential Learning introduced Themed Learning Communities to NIU. This year, Intercollegiate Athletics integrated into this program with its first TLC: “Developing Champions: In the classroom, in competition and in life.” With an emphasis on leadership and social justice, the 25 hand-picked freshman student-athletes who represent almost every NIU...

Behind a 47-29 kills advantage, the Northern Illinois women’s volleyball team defeated Lamar 3-0 Thursday night at McDonald Gym. The win gave the Huskies (8-2) their sixth straight on an eight-game, 12-day road trip. “We started this trip 12 hours ago, came down here and played in a real nice place,” said NIU head coach...