Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcat Volleyball Embarks on Tough Road Trip
10/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 25, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern's volleyball team (8-9, 4-6) takes its most grueling road Big Ten road trip this weekend, playing a pair of nationally ranked teams in No. 13 Penn State and No. 10 Ohio State.
The Wildcats are coming off a tough road weekend, losing to Iowa in four then getting swept by No. 21 Minnesota.
"We need to go 6-and-4 in the season's second half to make it to the NCAA's," NU head coach Keylor Chan said before departing with the team. "Making it to the national tournament has been the team's goal all season, but this weekend's competition is tough."
In the national statistics Wildcat Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) jumped up to 14th in blocking with a .159 blocks-per-game average going into this weekend's action. As a team, NU is ranked 17th nationally in blocking, averaging 3.06 per game.
Last weekend Penn State swept Michigan State but was then swept by Michigan on the road. Penn State saw its record fall to 14-4, 7-3, and its national ranking slip to 13th. Leading the way for the Nittany Lions is Cara Smith, averaging 2.66 kills and 1.44 blocks per game and hitting .402 overall. Smith is among the Big Ten leaders in each category. Another notable statistic for Penn State is home attendance-they are currently seventh in the nation averaging 2,355 fans per match.
History is not on the Wildcats' side for the OSU match. Ohio State (17-1, 9-1) has won the last 16 matches between the two teams that have been played in Columbus and the last six overall. OSU has a hold on second place in the Big Ten, as the Buckeyes' only loss this season came to conference leader Wisconsin. Ohio State's numbers are impressive-Anne Botica leads the team with 4.38 kills per game, Katie Virtue averages 13.32 assists and freshman Stacey Gordon posts 4.06 kills and 3.05 digs per game. As a team, the Buckeyes are hitting .311.
The Ohio State match will be televised locally in Ohio on the Ohio News Network.
