Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Face Michigan State, Michigan in Home Finale
11/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 25, 2003
Michigan State/Michigan Game Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- With a disappointing weekend behind them, the Wildcats (17-13 overall, 8-10 Big Ten) can still salvage a .500 record in the Big Ten with wins over Michigan State on Friday and Michigan on Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Last Friday, NU left West Lafayette, Ind. with a devastating loss. After tying the match at two games apiece, the 'Cats managed to build an 8-3 lead in Game 5. Purdue, however, was able to mount a comeback and tied the game at 13 before eventually winning 18-16.
The next night was not much better for Northwestern. Despite having more kills (66 to 51), more assists (59 to 39) and more digs (53 to 32) than Indiana, the Wildcats still were swept by the Hoosiers. One positive aspect of the game was middle blocker Leah Delcourt (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island), who notched a career-high .600 attack percentage. For the weekend, she had 13 kills, a .500 attack percentage and five blocks.
Several other Wildcats compiled great statistics over the weekend, including Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East), who racked up 22 kills and 30 digs. The outside hitter is 16th in the Big Ten with 2.79 digs per game.
Also worth mentioning are Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) and Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Tarnobzeg), who combined for 69 kills, five service aces and 29 digs in those two games. The former is third in the Big Ten with 1.31 blocks per game, while the latter is fourth in the Big Ten with 4.43 kills per game.
The Wildcats will have their work cut out for them when they face Michigan State (19-9, 11-7), which is likely to make it to the postseason. The Spartans have strong hitters such as Kim Schram, who torched Iowa last week with 16 kills (.481 attack percentage) and five solo blocks. Schram is No. 2 in the Big Ten with 4.72 kills per game.
Another Spartan that NU will have to keep an eye on is Jenny Rood, a middle blocker who is second on the team in kills per game (3.38) and third in the Big Ten with a .353 attack percentage.
Michigan (18-11, 10-8) is seeking an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines will ride behind outside hitter Jennifer Gandolph, who is averaging each game 3.84 kills and 3.89 digs. Those numbers tie her for 11th in the Big Ten in kills per game and rank her seventh in digs per game.
One other Wolverine that 'Cats will have to keep in check is middle blocker Erin Moore, who racked up 13 kills (.333 attack percentage) against Iowa last week. Moore is fifth best in the Big Ten in kills per game with her 4.34 average.
Friday night's match will begin at 7 p.m., while Saturday's match is slated for a 7:30 p.m. start. The latter was pushed back half-an-hour because of the NU men's basketball game at noon the same day.
Saturday also will mark Senior Night, when the Wildcats say goodbye to Lange, Lodzik and Erica Knavel (Elm Grove, Wis./Brookfield East). The three have combined to play 893 games in 260 matches the last few years.
