Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Northwestern Falls to No. 9 Wisconsin, 3-1
9/28/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 28, 2007
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Playing its third-consecutive ranked opponent to begin the Big Ten season, Northwestern fell to No. 9 Wisconsin in four games Friday night in its conference home opener, 30-28, 30-20, 25-30, 30-24.
The loss drops the Wildcats to 10-4 overall on the season, 1-2 in the conference. The win improves the Badgers to 11-1 on the year, 3-0 in the Big Ten.
Redshirt freshman Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) had an outstanding night for Northwestern, notching a season-best 21 kills with a phenomenal .439 hitting percentage (21-3-41) from the outside. Junior middle blocker Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) also had a huge night, terminating 15 attacks with a match-best .560 hitting percentage (15-1-25).
The first game was an exciting game of runs, with each team answering the other. Wisconsin began the match with a 5-1 spurt, but NU came back with one of its own to knot the game, 6-6. A 4-0 run by Wisconsin brought another 5-1 spurt from the 'Cats to tie the score, 11-11.
The game continued that way until Northwestern edged out to a late 27-25 lead thanks to kills by Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chaparral) and Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and a block by the same duo. Wisconsin called a timeout, then scored five of the final six points to win game one, 30-28.
Game two saw Wisconsin surge out to an 11-point lead, 17-6. The Wildcats clawed their way back within six points, 23-17, on a Gray kill, but the Badgers cruised into the finish line for a 30-20 game two victory and a 2-0 lead in the match.
Game three also saw the Badgers take an early lead, forcing a Wildcats' timeout after a service ace gave the visitors a five-point lead, 11-6. Northwestern again forced its way back, finally tying the score, 21-21, on three-consecutive Hyser kills. With the score knotted again, 24-24, Northwestern went on a 6-1 run featuring two Gray kills, a block by Moffett and Gray, and a block by Moffett and Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) to win game three, 30-25.
Gray had eight kills and a .636 hitting percentage (8-1-11) in game three, while Hyser was 6-for-8 on the attack with no errors.
Game four was tight early until a 7-2 Wisconsin spurt gave the visitors an 18-13 lead and caused a Northwestern timeout. The Wildcats pulled back to within four, 27-23, on a Hyser kill, but that is all the closer the 'Cats would come in a 30-24 loss.
Anderson had a double-double with 10 kills and 14 digs for NU, while Moffett added a season-best 11 kills. Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St.Ignatius) had a solid game off the bench, entering the match at setter midway through game two and finishing with 35 assists.
Sophomore Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) had a team-high 15 digs.
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. CT tomorrow night, Saturday, Sept. 29, against Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
