First come the wins, then come the accolades.

The NIU volleyball team picked up those wins last weekend and now junior outside hitter Irene Johnson is reaping the benefits. Johnson was named MAC West Player of the Week for her performances against Toledo and Ball State.

Friday against Toledo, the Schaumburg native recorded 14 kills and 12 digs. She followed that up Saturday with a 16-kill, 12-dig performance against Ball State, giving her three consecutive double-doubles.

“I think it’s great,” said women’s volleyball coach Ray Gooden. “It’s cool the conference is recognizing her performance.”

The three double-digit dig games in a row match the total number she had in the 17 games leading up to it.

The streak started with a dominating 15-kill, 27-dig outing in a win over Eastern Michigan.

“She just wants it,” Gooden said. “She’s trying to prove herself out there and is doing a good job.”

Johnson joins freshman Dani D’Ambrose as the only Huskies to receive MAC Player of the Week honors so far this season.


Dig it

With its recent defensive efforts, NIU has jumped to the top of the MAC in digs per game. As a team, the Huskies are averaging 19.10 digs per game, taking over first place from Eastern Michigan which is averaging 18.44.

Freshman Maddie Hughes has been a big part of that this season. The libero out of St. Charles is leading the team with 4.68 digs per game, which is sixth best in the MAC individually.

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