Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcat Volleyball Wins Big Ten Opener at Illinois, 3-2
9/27/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2002
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - An inspired comeback charge led the Northwestern women's volleyball team to its first victory at Huff Hall since 1984, defeating Illinois in five games in the Big Ten opener for both teams.
The Wildcats rallied from a two games-to-one deficit and a 20-16 hole in the fourth game to pull out a 30-25, 22-30, 22-30, 30-23, 15-9 victory. With the win, NU improves to 8-5 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. Illinois falls to 6-4 and 0-1, respectively.
Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Tarnobrzeg) led Northwestern with 21 kills and 14 digs, while Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) added 18 kills and seven total blocks. Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Poly) contributed 64 set assists.
The Wildcats stormed out of the gates in the first game, recording seven of the first eight points of the match, forcing the Illini to burn an early timeout.
Northwestern's lead swelled to as many as eight at 17-9 before Illinois rallied back to within 20-16, causing NU to burn a timeout.
The Illini battled back to within three points on six separate occasions, but the Wildcats fended them off every time. Lange recorded six kills and Lodzik added five as NU hit .361 in the game.
The second game remained close throughout the early stages, as neither team led by more than two through the first 20 points of the game.
The hosts eventually forged ahead to an 18-14 lead, resulting in a Northwestern timeout.
Similar to the first game, this time it was the Wildcats that continually mounted a charge. NU cut the lead to two four times, but could never make it all the way back.
Leading 21-19, Illinois scored nine of the game's final 12 points to even the match 1-1. The Illini outhit Northwestern .267 to .045 in game two.
In the pivotal third game, the Wildcats trailed by only two at 15-13 when Illinois seized control with a 3-0 run. NU would not get the deficit below five the rest of the game.
The Illini hit a sizzling .458 in the game with only one attack error and took advantage of seven Northwestern service errors.
The Wildcats then put forth a spirited effort in the fourth game to keep their hopes alive.
NU held a slim 16-15 edge when the Illini rattled off five straight points to take a 20-16 lead and looked poised to close out the match. However, Northwestern responded with a tide-turning 10-1 run of their own to take a 26-21 lead and eventually forced the decisive fifth game.
After recording only two total block assists in the first three games combined, the Wildcats notched eight in game four including four by Lange, the Big Ten's blocks leader. The Cats posted a .432 hitting percentage in the game.
Northwestern rode the wave of momentum into the final game, jumping out to a 10-2 lead and never looked back.
Illinois mounted a final comeback attempt, cutting NU's lead to 13-9, but the Wildcats regrouped following a timeout to score the final two points of the match.
Northwestern returns to action at 2 p.m. on Sunday when it travels to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on Purdue.
