This week in Huskie Athletics Northern Illinoi University will have six teams in action. The NIU football team heads back on the road after their 34-20 victory over UMass to take on Bowling Green at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. NIU volleyball will take on Kent State on Thursday and Ohio on Friday. Both matches will begin at 6 p.m. inside Victor E Court. NIU men’s soccer will play at home against Western Michigan at 3 p.m. on Saturday. NIU women’s soccer will host Kent State at 4 p.m. on Thursday before traveling to Akron for a 12 p.m. CT match on Sunday. NIU men’s tennis will head to East Lansing, Mich. for the ITA Regional Championships starting on Thursday. NIU women’s tennis will head to Columbus, Ohio on Thursday to begin competition at the ITA Midwest Regional.

Football

Saturday, Oct. 12 at Bowling Green, 2:30 p.m. –  Watch On ESPN+ | Live Stats | Listen

NIU Football jumps back into Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon with a 2:30 p.m. game at Bowling Green. The Huskies ran for 367 yards last Saturday in a 34-20 win over UMass at Huskie Stadium. Senior Gavin Williams had a career-high 125 rushing yards on 19 carries. Jaylen Poe had 98 yards and two touchdowns while Ethan Hampton had 64 rushing yards and a touchdown. It was the first time since Nov. 23, 2021 that the Huskies had three players rush for over 60 yards in the same game. Saturday’s game is the first time in seven years that the Huskies head to Doyt L. Perry Stadium. NIU has won the last three meetings in the series including a 34-26 win in the 2021 season. A full preview will be available on NIUHuskies.com later this week.

Volleyball

Thursday, Oct. 10: vs Kent State, 6 p.m. –  ESPN+ | Live Stats

Friday, Oct. 11: vs Ohio, 6 p.m. –  ESPN+ |  Live Stats

The Huskie volleyball team continues action at home, hosting Kent State and Ohio in contests this weekend. The Huskies will host Kent State (1-13, 0-4 MAC) on Oct. 10 for Tiki in the VEC before facing off against Ohio on Oct. 11 (6-9, 2-2 MAC) for DEI Night. The Huskies enter this week with a record of 2-12, 0-4 in the MAC.

With 21 kills in last week’s action, Charli Atiemo has surpassed the 900-kill mark, sitting at 908 career kills. Atiemo is also fifth in the conference in hitting percentage. On the defensive side, Crew Hoffmeier leads the conference in digs per set (5.36) and is No. 5 in the nation in that category. Ava Grevengoed leads the Huskies with 8 double-doubles this season and 25 service aces.

Men’s Soccer

Saturday, Oct. 12: vs. Western Michigan, 3 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats | Free Admission

The NIU men’s soccer team returns home this Saturday afternoon as it hosts Western Michigan at the NIU Soccer Complex. The Huskies will be looking for their third home win of the season and are led offensively by Jose Gomez with eight points and Kevin Kelly with seven points.

Western Michigan enters the week with a 7-0-5 record, including a 1-0-3 mark in Missouri Valley Conference play, following a 1-1 draw at Drake this past Saturday. The Broncos are unbeaten in their last 33 matches. Greyson Mercer and Noah James both have five goals to lead the Western Michigan attack while Owen Smith leads the country with 10 assists. The Broncos are ranked 11th in the country in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, with a new poll due out on Tuesday.

Women’s Soccer

Thursday, Oct. 10: vs Kent State, 4 p.m. –  Watch | Live Stats | Free Admission

Sunday, Oct. 13: at Akron, 12 p.m. – Watch | Live Stats

The NIU women’s soccer team will be back in action for two games this week. The Huskies will play host to Kent State at 4 p.m. on Thursday. The Huskies will then head to the road for a Sunday matchup with Akron set for a 12 p.m. CT kickoff.

NIU has opened MAC play (0-2-3). Isabel Struble scored her second goal of 2024 on Saturday, Oct. 5 against Bowling Green. Tyra King leads NIU with six goals in 2024.

Men’s Tennis  

Thursday, Oct. 10 – Monday, Oct. 14: at ITA Regional Championship (East Lansing, Mich.)

The NIU men’s tennis team will head to East Lansing, Mich. to begin competition at the ITA Regional Championship on Thursday. The Huskies have competed twice so far this fall and have claimed singles titles at both events. Iker Gaztambide Arrastia has claimed the topflight at the River Forest Collegiate Invitational and at the Toledo Invitational this fall. Sam Klein earned the title in the second flight at the Toledo Invitational.

Women’s Tennis

Thursday, Oct. 10 – Monday, Oct. 14 at ITA Midwest Regional (Columbus, Ohio)

Fresh off a weekend at the 2024 Hoosier Classic, the NIU women’s tennis team travels to Columbus, Ohio for the ITA Midwest Regional where players from 29 schools across the region will compete in singles and doubles.  NIU senior transfer Maria Dzemeshkevich has secured a spot in the singles main draw while the rest of the Huskies will compete in the qualifying draw beginning Thursday with two wins needed to advance into the main draw.

Doubles competition, as well as the singles main draw, begins on Friday.  The Huskie duo of Isabella Righi and Theodora Kousiou reached the finals of the Hoosier Classic second flight over the weekend, while freshman Lucia Yecora recorded singles wins over players from Indiana and Purdue en route to a 3-0 weekend.