Northwestern University Athletics
Volleyball team notches most wins since 1990
6/21/1999 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
This success came against some of the toughest competition in the country. Nearly 41 percent of Northwestern's schedule was against nationally-ranked opponents (13 matches). The Wildcats scored two triumphs over ranked teams during the year. On Oct. 23, NU beat No. 23 Ohio State, 3-1. It was the first time the Wildcats had beaten the Buckeyes since Nov. 19, 1988. The second victory over a nationally-ranked team came on Nov. 7 against No. 15 Illinois (3-1). Once again, it was another milestone as NU had not beaten the Illini since Oct. 12, 1990. And even though Kansas State was not ranked at the time they played, Northwestern still considered the five-game win back on Sept. 12, one of its most important victories of the season because KSU went on to finish with a No. 20 RPI.
The win at home against Illinois was significant in another way because Northwestern set a Welsh-Ryan Arena record with 1,127 fans in attendance. Previously, the largest crowd to watch a volleyball match at Northwestern was in 1994 when 1,076 fans turned out to watch NU vs. Illinois.
A 10-2 nonconference record was achieved as the Wildcats captured two tournament championships. In the season-opener, NU defeated three local rivals, Illinois-Chicago, Loyola-Chicago and Southern Illinois, en route to winning the adidas Chicagoland Classic. Two weeks later, the 'Cats rattled off four-straight victories to claim their own Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic. In the opening match against Towson, NU set a school and Big Ten record with a .689 hitting percentage. The number was the second-best hitting percentage in NCAA Division I history, trailing only Colorado State's .800 hitting percentage against Loyola Marymount in 1987. The 'Cats totaled 33 kills on 45 attempts with only two errors in the win.
Northwestern was led by a strong senior class made up of setter Liz Renius, outside hitter Jessica Holloway and middle blockers Melissa Doan and Sharon Fisk. On Sept. 6 at Baylor, Renius became NU's all-time assist leader. She ended her career with 4,743 assists and became the 20th setter in Big Ten history to reach the 4,000-assist plateau. She finished her career ranked 10th among Big Ten setters in all-time assists.
Holloway, who led the team in kills and digs, also left her mark in the NU record books. She ended her career ranked third in all-time digs (1,335) and sixth in all-time kills (1,396). Her 3.26 kills per game is the second-highest total in school history.
In the win over Illinois, Doan became the 14th Wildcat to join the 1,000-kill club. She enjoyed an excellent senior campaign by leading the team in kill percentage (.281), service aces (34) and total blocks (91). Fisk exited at eighth on the NU career charts in block assists (239) and total blocks (290).
The Wildcats demonstrated their effort not only on the court, but in the classroom too. Nine members of the team were named Academic All-Big Ten, including Doan, who was selected to the GTE Academic All-District V second team.
1998 Highlights
Record: 15-17
Big Ten Record: 5-15
Big Ten Finish: 9th
National Finish/Sagarin Rating: 31st/301
* Team recorded the most wins since the 1990 season
* Leah Ackerman - Academic All-Big Ten
* Jennifer Armson - Academic All-Big Ten
* Carmen Burbach - Academic All-Big Ten; All-Tournament Team (Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic)
* Melissa Doan - GTE Academic All-District V Second Team; Academic All-Big Ten; All-Tournament Team (Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic)
* Sharon Fisk - Academic All-Big Ten
* Jennifer Higgins - Academic All-Big Ten
* Jessica Holloway - Academic All-Big Ten; All-Tournament Team (The SunTrust Invitational); Most Valuable Player (Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic)
* Kitty Owen - Academic All-Big Ten; Most Valuable Player (adidas Chicagoland Volleyball Classic); All-Tournament Team (Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic)
* Liz Renius - All-Tournament Team (adidas Chicagoland Volleyball Classic); All-Tournament Team (Evanston Holiday Inn Wildcat Classic)
* Jennifer Zagorski - Academic All-Big Ten
