Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Wildcat Volleyball Bumps Boilermakers, 3-1
11/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 15, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) and Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./East) became the first Northwestern duo this season to each record 20 kills in the same match as the Wildcats bounced Purdue 30-21, 30-23, 30-32, 30-26 Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Lange recorded 23 kills for the second consecutive match and Gardner added a career-high 20 as NU improved to 15-12 overall and 8-7 in the Big Ten. Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Tarnobrzeg) added a double-double for the Wildcats, posting 11 kills and 19 digs. Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) also reached double-figures in kills, tallying 10.
Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Poly) contributed 60 assists, reaching the mark for the second straight match. Northwestern had 68 assists, compared to 45 for Purdue (11-17, 1-14 Big Ten). The 'Cats also notched 72 digs to 54 for the Boilermakers.
Northwestern jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the opening game and never looked back. Purdue got no closer than six the remainder of the game, as Lange posted nine kills in the frame. Robertson recorded 15 assists as the Wildcats hit .271.
NU held a slim 18-17 lead in Game 2, when it slowed pulled away with a 9-3 run to take a 27-20 lead behind two kills apiece by Lange, Meyer and Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita).
The 'Cats outhit the Boilers .256-to-.114 in the set to take a two games-to-none lead.
Purdue stormed out of the gates in the third game, taking an early 9-4 lead. Northwestern chipped away at the lead, eventually tying the game 14-14. With the game tied 16-16, the Boilermakers used a 7-2 spurt to take a 23-18 lead.
However, the Wildcats stormed back. A 6-1 run tied the game at 24-24 and Northwestern eventually earned a pair of match points at 29-27. But a kill by Marie Franke and a pair of errors by the 'Cats gave Purdue a 30-29 lead. NU tied the score on a kill by Lodzik, but the vistors forced a fourth game thanks to a kill by Joanna Lowery and a Wildcat hitting error.
Purdue outhit Northwestern in the game .263-to-.098, despite eight kills by Gardner.
The Wildcats closed out the match in the fourth game. Leading 14-13, NU stretched the lead to 21-15. The lead was 26-18 before Purdue closed to within 29-26. But a service error by the Boilermakers ended any hopes of sending the match to a fifth game.
Northwestern is back in action at 7 p.m. Saturday when it hosts Illinois.
