Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Square Off Against Missouri in NCAA Tournament
12/5/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Dec. 5, 2002
EVANSTON, Ill. - It's been 18 long years, but the Northwestern volleyball team has finally found its way back to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats open tournament play at 5:30 p.m. Friday night against 20th-ranked University of Missouri in Cedar Falls, Iowa. Friday night's winner will take on the winner of the night's second match between Northern Iowa and Wisconsin-Milwaukee at 6 p.m. Saturday.
KGRK, University of Northern Iowa's student radio station, will broadcast all three of the weekend's matches over the internet. A link to the broadcast can be found at UNI's website, http://www.unipanthers.com.
Northwestern (17-15, 10-10 Big Ten) finished in a tie with Michigan and Indiana for sixth place in the Big Ten. Missouri (25-7, 14-6 Big 12) finished third in the Big 12.
NU holds a 5-2 series lead over Mizzou. The teams last met Sept. 19, 1998 with the Wildcats posting a 16-14, 15-3, 15-8 victory during the Wildcat Classic. Northwestern is 0-4 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. The 'Cats reached the tournament every year from 1981-84, but lost in the first round each year.
Northwestern is led by junior middle blocker Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg). Earlier this week, Lange earned All-Big Ten first-team honors, the first time an NU player has received the honor since 1984. She was one of five unanimous selections. She ranked first in the Big Ten in blocks, second in hitting percentage and third in kills.
Christi Myers, an All-Big 12 selection, leads Missouri with a .388 hitting percentage and a 4.07 kills-per-game-average. Lindsey Hunter averages 14.03 assists per game for the Tigers. Mizzou is making its third consecutive tournament appearance and third in school history. It lost to Utah State in the opening round in 2000 and to Illinois in the first round in 2001.
The Wildcats have an 8-16 all-time record in the state of Iowa, including a 7-13 mark against the University of Iowa. Northwestern faced Missouri Sept. 24, 1984 in Iowa City with the 'Cats posting a 15-6, 15-13, 15-9 victory.
