Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Wisconsin
Northwestern Volleyball Strong Despite Fall to No. 6 Wisconsin
11/21/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 21, 2001
MADISON, Wis. - The look in the eyes of Northwestern's players midway through Game Two told the story - they knew they were holding their own with the sixth-best team in the country. Final scores tend not to indicate the intensity that takes place in a contest, and a 3-0 (30-23, 30-19, 30-28) NU loss at No. 6 Wisconsin (24-3, 18-1 Big Ten) did not mean the 'Cats (9-17, 5-14) were shut out of the match.
NU came out with a game plan that required doubling-up on Wisconsin's All-American hitter, Sherisa Livingston, who had hit over .700 in the last meeting between the two teams. Livingston still led both teams with 16 kills, but was held to .310 for the match.
Sophomore middle blocker Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) led Northwestern with 12 kills and five blocks. Freshman Jill Buschur (New Bremen, Ohio/New Bremen) had 10 kills and four blocks, while freshman setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) finished with 34 assists, five blocks, four digs, three kills and two service aces.
NU outblocked their opponent once again, with 11 team blocks to UW's nine. The Wildcats were stellar at the net, forcing numerous continuations on Wisconsin's side of play. Though not recorded as blocks because UW kept the ball alive, it showed the advantage NU had at the net.
In Game One the Wildcats got up, 5-3, and the two teams battled back and forth for the lead. The Badgers took a three-point lead at 16-13. NU fought back to within a point as UW made attacking errors and the game continued to see-saw. NU appeared focused and Robertson looked sharp, while Wisconsin appeared unbalanced early on, committing nine attack errors in the game. A kill by Molly Kamp (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) made the score 20-19 in UW's favor, until Wisconsin blocked two attempts and Livingston hit four of her six kills in the game to make the score 26-19. Lange came out of a timeout and gave NU a point with a decisive kill, followed by a strong kill from Robertson. A service ace by Robertson brought the score to 27-23, but the Wildcat defense went awry and the Badgers finished off the game 30-23.
The Badgers got off to a quick 5-1 lead in Game Two, but the Wildcats were able to slow the pace of the game and tie it up doing what they do best-block. Back-to-back blocks by Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita) and Buschur gave NU an 8-7 advantage. Wildcat attack errors gave Wisconsin a three-point lead, but NU continued to battle defensively in the long volleys. Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) had two consecutive kills in front of a hometown crowd, which were followed by a Ballog service ace to make the score 14-12 in UW's favor, then Livingston committed an attack error and a net violation to knot it at 14. Wisconsin began making solid kills and went on a 9-2 run. The 'Cats never got within five for the remainder of the game, which ended 30-19.
The 'Cats took four game leads off blocks early in Game Three, leading 11-9. Two kills by Lange gave NU a 15-13 lead, and an attack error by Wisconsin made it 16-13. Buschur helped NU retain the lead with three solid kills, but the Badgers were also hitting hard and, despite defensive heroics by NU's back row, rattled off three straight kills to take a 20-19 lead. Ballog tied the score at 20 with a kill, but Livingston came in and had a pair of points, followed by another Wisconsin kill. NU answered with four kills and brought the score to 25-24, with UW up by one. The teams traded points, then a service ace by Robertson tied the game at 27. In a tense moment, NU dropped a close play at the net, as no Wildcat could recover a blocked ball. A hard-hit attack by Buschur, who had five kills in the game, was ruled an attack error and UW followed with a sharp kill to end the game and the match.
"It was a good match. Our kids played hard, and we were better than we had been in a long time," head coach Keylor Chan said after the match. "I'm pleased with out girls. We executed out game plan and made adjustments, and we were so close. We're on an upswing now."
After the match, Wisconsin was presented with a Big Ten championship trophy in front of 4,128 fans.
The Wildcats will finish out their season on the road Saturday in West Lafayette, Ind., as they play Purdue.
