Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Set to Face Michigan and Michigan State
10/19/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Michigan and Michigan State Match Notes in PDF Format
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Oct. 19, 2004
EVANSTON, Ill. -- After splitting a weekend series at home against Purdue and Indiana, Northwestern (7-11, 2-6 Big Ten) travels to Michigan (14-5, 4-4) Friday, Oct. 22 and Michigan State (6-10, 1-7) Saturday, Oct. 23 to fight to improve its standing in the Big Ten. The road trip will mark only the second time NU has traveled in the Big Ten this year.
Freshman Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) has looked increasingly comfortable in the lineup for the 'Cats. She went over the 100-kill mark on the year this past weekend and now has 123 kills. In Big Ten competition, Anderson leads the team with 3.35 kills per game. She is tied for the top spot in kills with fellow freshman Courtney Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) with 87.
Senior Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) is coming off her finest individual performance of the season, recording a rare triple-double of 11 kills, 27 digs and 57 assists against Indiana. Her triple-double came on the heels of posting three consecutive double-doubles against Iowa, Minnesota and Purdue. Robertson now has 328 assists in eight Big Ten matches so far, averaging 11.31 per game. Although her job as a setter is primarily to put her teammates in a position to score, Robertson also does her part to light up the scoreboard as well. She currently leads the team with 16 service aces, seven of which have come in Big Ten compeitition.
Freshmen middle blockers Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and Stefanie Alde (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) are averaging one block per game for the 'Cats while senior Leah Delcourt (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) has a team-leading six solo blocks in Big Ten competition.
Junior libero and co-captain Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) currently ranks fifth in the Big Ten in digs with 282, averaging 4.48 per game. The 'Cats also rank fifth in the Big Ten in digs as a team, totaling 1,007 on the year, while averaging 15.98 per game.
The first half of NU's weekend will take place Friday in Ann Arbor, Mich., where the Wolverines tout a 9-1 record at Cliff Keen Arena. Last year, Michigan posted a 9-6 home record. The Wolverines have tallied nine or more home wins in each of the last four seasons.
UM is led offensively by Jennifer Gandolph, who is on the verge of reaching 200 kills this year. She enters weekend play with 199. Lyndsay Miller and Katie Bruzdzinski are not far behind with 182 and 172 kills, respectively.
Saturday, the 'Cats travel to East Lansing, Mich., where they will face another strong offense led by the Spartans' Kim Scram. Scram's 31 kills against Purdue on Oct. 2 are the highest single-match total in the Big Ten in 2004. She is averaging 4.57 kills per game on the year. NU split the season series with MSU last year. Each team kept home-court advantage by sweeping its opponent in its home arena.
Setting History
Senior setter Drew Robertson has made her mark on the Northwestern record book in her three years wearing the Purple and White. Last season, the Long Beach, Calif. native recorded 1,463 assists, good for second place in Northwestern's all-time single-season record book. Robertson also has a firm hold on the top spot with 1,515 assists, which she accomplished her sophomore year. She now stands at second all-time with 4,617 and is just 126 assists shy of overtaking Liz Renius' school record of 4,743. Robertson needs to average only 10 assists in each of the 'Cats remaining 12 regular season matches. She has averaged 36 assists over NU's first 18 matches.
The Series with the Wolverines
All-Time Series: Michigan leads 26-20
Most Recent Meeting: Nov. 29, 2003 (UM, 3-1)
2004 Record: 14-5 (4-4, Big Ten)
The Series with the Spartans
All-Time Series: Northwestern leads 27-19
Most Recent Meeting: Nov. 28, 2003 (NU, 3-0)
2004 Record: 6-10 (1-7, Big Ten)
