Northwestern University Athletics
Volleyball Team Travels to Minnesota and Iowa
11/6/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
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Nov. 6, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern (13-11, 6-6 Big Ten) aims to snap a three-match losing skid this weekend when it travels to Minnesota Friday and Iowa Saturday. Both matches start at 7 p.m. The Wildcats will face off against teams headed in opposite directions, as Minnesota is ranked No. 7 and Iowa is without Renee Hill, who suffered a season-ending injury. The Gophers lead their all-time series with NU 31-13. In their first meeting this season, UM posted a 30-22, 30-28, 30-22 victory over the 'Cats in Evanston. The Wildcats hold a slim 23-22-1 series advantage over the Hawkeyes. NU posted an Oct. 4 30-24, 30-23, 30-21 home win against Iowa.
Scouting the Golden Gophers
With two victories and two Penn State losses over the weekend, Minnesota opened up a three-match lead in the Big Ten race. The Golden Gophers dropped the opening game of their match at Illinois, but bounced back to post a 24-30, 30-16, 30-26, 35-33 victory. Trisha Bradford led four Gophers in double-figures with 16 kills. Lindsdey Vander Well recorded 53 assists, as Minnesota posted a .321 hitting percentage and 34 block assists. UM started out slowly again Sunday against Purdue, but rallied for a 25-30, 30-17, 30-25, 30-25 win. Cassie Busse and Erin Martin tallied 21 kills apiece as the Gophers hit .327. Vander Well contributed 63 assists and is averaging 12.64 per game. Busse averages 4.15 kills per game and is hitting .318. Head Coach Mike Hebert is 164-64 in seven seasons at Minnesota.
Scouting the Hawkeyes
Iowa has lost six straight matches entering play this weekend. The Hawkeyes dropped a tough five-game decision to Purdue Friday 23-30, 30-28, 30-21, 28-30, 8-15. Amoreena Reynolds posted match-highs of 27 kills and a .457 hitting percentage. The Boilermakers outhit the Hawkeyes .333-to-.000 in the fifth game. Iowa then fell in three straight games at Illinois the following night 30-21, 30-24, 31-29. Echaka Agba was the only Iowa player in double-figures with 12 kills. The Hawkeyes recently lost team leader Renee Hill to a season-ending knee injury. Agba leads all active players with a 2.89 kills-per-game average. Jitka Stehnova averages 11.49 assists per game. Rita Buck-Crockett is 44-91 in five seasons as Iowa's head coach.
Head Coach Keylor Chan
Keylor Chan is in his third season as head coach of the Wildcats after spending one season as head coach at Furman University. Last season, Northwestern recorded its best Big Ten Conference finish in more than a decade and won more conference matches than any NU team since the 1993 season. Chan has compiled a 30-51 record in three seasons with the 'Cats and is 48-66 overall in four seasons as a head coach. Chan is assisted by Josh Grau and Meggan Kohnen, in their third and first seasons with the Wildcats, respectively.
Last Time Out
The Wildcats dropped a pair of home matches last weekend, falling to Ohio State Friday and Indiana Saturday. Against the Buckeyes, the Wildcats let a two games-to-one lead slip away, falling 30-23, 30-32, 30-25, 27-30, 8-15. Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) posted a season-high 24 kills in the loss. OSU outhit the 'Cats .188-to-.112 in the match. The Buckeys hit .308 in the fifth game, compared to -.154 for Northwestern. Saturday night, the Wildcats got off to a good start, but faded in the 30-22, 26-30, 28-30, 23-30 loss to the Hoosiers. Indiana had 14 team blocks, compared to six for NU. The Hoosiers also outhit the Wildcats .192-to-.120. Lange totaled a team-high 16 kills and six blocks for Northwestern. Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Tarnobrzeg) added 11 kills.
Ain't That Grand
With her 11th kill of the night against Indiana Saturday, junior middle blocker Erika Lange became the 16th player in Northwestern history to record her 1,000th career kill. Lange reached the mark late in the third game of the match. Carmen Burbach was the last Wildcat to reach the milestone, achieving it during the 2000 season. Lange currently ranks first in Big Ten conference matches with a .361 hitting percentage and third with 4.33 kills-per-game and 1.46 blocks-per-game averages. Her 1.51 blocks per game in overall matches this season ranks 15th in Division I. Lange's .365 overall hitting percentage is 29th in the nation.
Magic Numbers
* Northwestern is 13-0 this season when it boasts a team hitting percentage of .200 or better. When the Wildcats hit under .200, they are 0-11. NU's opponents are 8-4 when they hit over .200 and 3-9 when they hit below the mark.
* When Northwestern junior outside hitter Iwona Lodzik records 12 or more kills in a match, the Wildcats are 10-2. When Lodzik totals 11 kills or less, the 'Cats are 3-9.
* The Wildcats have outscored their opponents in the opening game of matches this season 666-610.
* Northwestern is 7-1 this season when it records nine or more service aces.
Reaching Milestones
In addition to Erika Lange recording her 1,000th career kill last weekend, two other Wildcats also achieved kill milestones. Cassie McKnight (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos) posted the 100th kill of her career, while Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) recorded her 600th against Ohio State. Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita) is three total blocks away from moving into sixth place on NU's all-time list and 13 block assists from third place. McKnight is 13 digs away from the 400th of her career. Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Poly) needs 27 assists to become the seven player in NU history to record 2,000 career assists.
