This week is filled to the brim with Huskie action! Three winter sports see their preseason debuts with men’s and women’s basketball holding Huskie Madness this Thursday. Likewise on Friday, wrestling holds its annual Red/Black dual, a showcase of the team’s talent! Prior to those events, women’s golf competes in the Charlotte Invitational while men’s and women’s soccer play at home. Volleyball heads to Kent State and Ohio while women’s tennis hosts the NIU Huskie Fall Indoor Invitational Friday-Sunday. Continuing Saturday’s action, men’s soccer squares off against Akron at home and women’s hoops plays host to Loras in an exhibition. Finally, cross country looks to bring home some hardware at the Mid-American Conference Championships.

Volleyball
Friday, Oct. 28: at Kent State, 5 p.m. – ESPN3 | Live Stats

Saturday, Oct. 29 at Ohio, 3 p.m. – ESPN3 | Live Stats

After splitting its away series with Toledo the weekend prior, NIU heads to Kent State and Ohio this weekend for more action. The Huskies saw Charli Atiemo break her career-high in kills last Saturday as she logged 19 to help NIU beat Toledo 3-1. Katie Jablonski posted back-to-back double-doubles over the weekend while Francesca Bertucci had 18 digs and a season-high three aces in Saturday’s contest. Both Huskies’ matches this weekend will broadcast live on ESPN3.

Women’s Basketball
Thursday, Oct. 27: Huskie Madness, 6 p.m.

Saturday, Oct. 29: vs. Loras, 1 p.m. – Live Audio | Live Stats

The NIU women’s basketball team hosts Loras at the NIU Convocation Center at 1 p.m. this Saturday in exhibition action. The Huskies went 11-9 in the MAC last season and finished fourth in the league, their highest finish since 2017. NIU returns four starters from last year, including three All-MAC selections in forward A’Jah Davis and guards Chelby Koker and Janae Poisson. Davis earned First Team All-MAC honors after leading NIU with 16.6 points and 12.0 rebounds per game. The senior forward set NIU single-season records last year with 349 rebounds and 24 double-doubles, which were third-most in the nation. Poisson led the MAC with 80 three-pointers in 2021-22, while Koker averaged over 17 points, five rebounds, and four assists per game in 16 games. The Huskies were 10-3 at the Convo last season, their second season with double-digit wins at home in four years.

Men’s Soccer
Tuesday, Oct. 25: vs. Bowling Green, 7 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats

Saturday, Oct. 29: vs. Akron, 7 p.m.  – Live Video | Live Stats

A pair of home games await the NIU men’s soccer team this week as they host Bowling Green and Akron. The Huskies are returning to action for the first time since Oct. 17, when they defeated Chicago State, 2-0, behind a pair of goals from Eddie Knight. Bowling Green travels to DeKalb on Tuesday (Oct. 25) with a 4-4-5 overall record, including a 2-1-2 mark in league play, while Akron comes into the week at 8-2-4 overall, 3-0-2 in the MAC. Saturday night’s contest will be the final home game of the season and NIU will honor its seniors prior to the game.

Women’s Soccer
Thursday, Oct. 27: vs. Bowling Green, 1 p.m. – Live Video | Live Stats

The Huskie women’s soccer team will close out the 2022 campaign on Thursday afternoon when they host Bowling Green. NIU comes into the final game of the season with a 6-7-4 overall record, including a 3-5-2 mark in conference play. The six wins, and three league victories, both represent the most for the program since the 2017 season. Bowling Green comes to DeKalb with a 7-5-4 overall record, including a 5-2-3 mark in conference play. The Falcons have clinched a spot in the upcoming MAC Tournament and could be seeded as high as second, depending on the outcome of Thursday’s final day of the regular season.

Cross Country
Saturday, Oct. 29: MAC Championship (Athens, Ohio), 10 a.m.

Ohio University hosts the MAC Conference Cross Country Championships this Saturday (Oct. 29) in Athens. The meet will be run on the Ohio University Golf Course along the banks of the Hocking River, with the six-kilometer women’s race slated to begin at 10 a.m. CT. Last time out at the Bradley Pink Classic (Oct. 14), Brooke Valentine led the way for the Huskies with an 18th-place finish in the 190-runner field of the white race. Joy Jackson also claimed a top-50 finish while NIU claimed 12th in the team competition.

Men’s Basketball
Thursday, Oct. 27: Huskie Madness, 6 p.m.

Monday, Oct. 31: vs. McKendree (Exhibition), 7 p.m. – Live Audio | Live Stats

The 2022-23 Huskie basketball season gets underway on Thursday night (Oct. 27) with Huskie Madness at the NIU Convocation Center. The Huskie men’s and women’s basketball teams will compete in a number of on-court events, including a three-point contest and a skills competition, before Adam Wilson and OG Stevo entertain the crowd with a concert. One NIU student will also have the chance to make a half-court shot to win a car courtesy of Kunes Auto Group. On Monday, the Huskies will be in action for the first time this season when they host McKendree in an exhibition game, game time against the Bearcats is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Women’s Golf
Monday-Tuesday, Oct. 24-25: at the Charlotte Invitational – Scores

The Northern Illinois University women’s golf team finished fifth in a field of 12 teams with a 54-hole score of 41-over 905 at the Charlotte Invitational. Sydney Naro and Jasmine Ly led the squad as individuals as both finished in the top-10. NIU carded a 307 in the first round before posting a 293 in the second. The Huskies’ round two score tied for the best singular team round in the tournament. The only other school to post a 293 was James Madison in round three, who finished tied for second.

Women’s Tennis
Friday-Sunday, October 28-30: Huskie Fall Indoor Invitational, Nelson Tennis Center at Chick Evans Field House, DeKalb

The NIU women’s tennis team will be in action at home this weekend as they welcome players from St. Thomas, Chicago State and Lewis for the Huskie Fall Indoor Invitational. There will be one doubles draw while the format for singles will be a hidden dual.  Friday and Saturday’s action will start with two rounds of doubles followed by one round of singles, while players will compete in one round of singles on Sunday.  Six Huskies competed in singles last week at the ITA Midwest Regionals, including Anastasia Rakita, who won two matches in qualifying to earn a spot in the main draw, while Diana Lukyanova also competed in the Main Draw. Look for a complete advance of the Huskie Indoor Invitational Thursday on NIUHuskies.com.