Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Purdue
Wildcats Beat Boilermakers, 3-1
10/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
NU vs. PUR Box Score in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Oct. 15, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern defeated Purdue Friday, Oct. 15 in Welsh-Ryan Arena by a score of 3-1 (30-22, 30-27, 18-30, 30-24). Senior Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) recorded her third-straight double-double with 49 assists and 18 digs.
Freshmen Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) and Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led the Wildcats' offense with double-digit kill totals of 17 and 13, respectively.
"We feel really good about how we're playing right now," Jurivich said. "Everyone seems to step up at different times to help the team."
In the first half of the opening game, the two teams felt each other out, trading points and playing to a 13-13 tie. From there, the `Cats jumped into a higher gear, going on a 10-3 run to a 23-16 lead. The Boilermakers never really threatened again, as NU went on the win 30-22 thanks to a game-high four kills from Jurivich and her lofty .571 hitting percentage.
Purdue jumped out to a 10-5 lead in game two, holding the `Cats down for much of the way before NU slowly chipped away and eventually tied it up at 21-21. NU never trailed again, relying on steady offense and strong defense to close out the tight 30-27 win. Junior co-captain Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) -- who led NU in the match with 20 digs -- had seven digs in game two, while senior Leah Delcourt (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) did her job in the middle with 1.5 blocks.
With Purdue in the hole at 0-2, the `Cats had the opportunity for the sweep, but the Boilermakers refused to give up, looking impressive in a 30-18 win over NU in game three. Jurivich landed another four kills in game three, but after falling behind 10-15, the `Cats never seemed to find their groove as the Boilermakers went on a 15-8 run to close out the game.
Game four proved to be a slugfest between the two teams, as they traded blows and saw themselves knotted in a tie 13 times by the time the scoreboard read 14-14. As the teams came down to the wire, Robertson saved her best for crunch time, making the play of the match with the Boilermakers threatening her team's slim 22-20 lead. Purdue's star-middle blocker, Kim McConaha -- who has 260 kills on the year -- drilled a shot down the left side of court that had a point for the Boilermakers written all over it. Somewhat out-of-position, Robertson still managed to lay out and get a fist on the shot, saving the point, while practically being spun around from the force of the ball. An attack error on Purdue ended the point, swinging the momentum back to NU's side with a 23-20 lead instead of a potentially dangerous 22-21 margin.
The `Cats didn't hesitate to shut the door on the Boilermakers from that point, going on a 7-4 run to win 30-24 and claim their second Big Ten victory of the season.
"We've seen a progression through our early matches and through our practices that has gotten us to the point where we're playing very well together right now," Chan said. "We're playing with a lot of confidence right now, which is essential to be successful in the Big Ten."'
NU will fight for its third Big Ten win of the season tomorrow at 7 p.m. in Welsh-Ryan Arena against Indiana.
