For NIU volleyball coach Ray Gooden, there’s no tip-toeing around the importance of this weekend’s matches.

“We need to win,” Gooden said. “That’s it. That’s the bottom line.”

There are a lot of factors going into the Huskies’ season-ending home matches this weekend against Ball State on Friday at 7 p.m. and Toledo on Saturday at 7 p.m.

Most importantly, NIU (11-17, 5-9 in the MAC) will have to beat Ball State (5-22. 4-10) to secure a fourth place finish in the MAC West.

The Huskies are also looking for their first win since mid-October. They are currently riding a six-match losing streak.

To make matters worse, the Huskies are just 2-10 playing at home this season.
“This weekend is huge,” Gooden said. “We need to have a positive swing to end the regular season.”

The Huskies do have history on their side as they beat both Ball State and Toledo earlier this season.

The Cardinals, however, forced the Huskies into a five-game match in the two teams previous meeting this season.

“Hopefully we’ve gained enough experience since then,” Gooden said. “They have some good kids like their libero (Alyssa Rio). She’s an Illinois kid so she’ll be excited for the match.”

The Rockets have some momentum having just won their first MAC contest of the season last weekend against Buffalo.

In its 3-1 victory, Toledo had 17 serving aces, including eight from freshman outside-hitter Katie Westerfeld.

“They’re a great serving team,” Gooden said. “We need to be on top of our game when it comes to serve receiving.”

While NIU freshman Maddie Hughes had to sit out last Saturday’s match with a lower-body injury, she is expected to return this weekend. Defensive specialist Jody Hardwick picked up the slack and had 17 digs in the Huskies 0-3 loss against Central Michigan.

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