The Huskie volleyball team travels to Cedar Falls, Iowa this weekend for a three game invitational. This is NIU’s first and only road invitational of the season and they want it to be a good one.

NIU head coach Ray Gooden knows that this road trip, along with any, is tough.

“It’s pretty demanding,” Gooden said. “It seems like we’re always on the road.”

The Huskies are led by junior outside hitter Meagan Schoenrock with 67 kills. Serving has been outside hitter Allison McGlaughlin’s game with 10 aces in four games. The defense is being led by Sophomore Maddie Hughes who has 40 digs on the year.

NIU is 2-2 on the season and might be facing its toughest challenge yet.

Tonight, the Huskies will begin their weekend at 7:30 p.m. against host team Northern Iowa.

UNI is 3-0 after a three match sweep at an invitational last weekend in Boca Raton, Fla. The Panthers won all three of their matches in three sets and their closest set win was by five against Florida Atlantic. UNI is dominating opponents in almost every category. After last weekend’s invitational, the Panthers are leading their opponents 133-77 in kills, 18-5 in serving aces, and 169-93 in points.

UNI has a .383 hitting percentage and its attack is led by outside hitter Shannon Aschoff and middle blocker Ashten Stelken. Both players have a combined 71 out of the team’s 133 kills. The Panther’s main setter is redshirt Freshman Bre Payton with 68 assists and their top defender is Sophomore Ellie Blankenship with 60 digs.

NIU will start Saturday with their first of two matches at 10 a.m. against Clemson.

Clemson’s record is 2-1 after a home invitational last weekend. Outside hitter Danielle Hepburn is Clemson’s main point of attack with 41 kills and a .342 hitting percentage. The 6-foot-2 senior also leads the team in blocks with 14. The Tiger’s attack is held together by junior setter Kelsey Murphy with 106 assists. Defensive specialist Didem Ege leads the defense with 42 digs and leads the team in serving with four aces and a .952 serving percentage.

The Huskies third and final match will pit them against Marquette at 5 p.m. on Saturday.

The Golden Eagles have a record of 1-2 on the season after a home invitational last weekend.

Marquette’s leading attacker is outside hitter Ashlee Fisher with 44 kills, but its most accurate is middle blocker Rabbecka Gonyo with a .378 hitting percentage. The Golden Eagles split their setting time between Freshman Laira Akin with 41 assists and Junior Caryn Mastandrea with 62 assists. Marquette is a very good team defensively with defensive specialists Terri Angst and Amy Deelo leading the team in digs.

Gooden also knows that these three teams are tough and they won’t just roll over.

“They all play on a high level,” Gooden said. “They are all very physical and they are all well-coached.”

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