Northwestern
Indiana
Wildcats Take Down Hoosiers, 3-2
11/26/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 26, 2004
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern (9-20, 4-13 Big Ten) put together one of its finest, complete team performances of the year Friday night against Indiana, squeezing out a 3-2 win (29-31, 30-25, 26-30, 30-24, 16-14) after 150 thrilling minutes of play. The win evens the season series with the Hoosiers, who dropped the `Cats at Welsh-Ryan Arena back on Oct. 16 in another marathon match, 3-2.
Similar to their first meeting, Friday's match came right down to the wire.
With the teams knotted at 14-14 in the tie-breaking fifth game, sophomore Julie Purcell (Lousiville, Ky./Assumption) rose up over the middle of the net, looking to destroy the ball like she had done all night -- she finished with five kills in the game and 15 on the night. Purcell wound up as two Hoosiers leapt to meet her, but she hit the brakes, let them fly right by and gently tapped the ball over the two defenders. The tip gave NU a huge lift to 15-14, and freshman Stefanie Alde (Libertyville, Ill./Libertyville) closed the book on the match with a cross-court kill.
Everyone played a crucial role in the win, as a number of `Cats had career nights.
The offensive star of the show was freshman Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) who drilled a career-high 28 kills off a .323 hitting percentage. NU fed Anderson with 65 attack attempts -- also a career high -- and she delivered for the `Cats whenever they needed a big point.
Freshman Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) was right there for the `Cats as well, posting 24 kills. She also played one of her best defensive matches of the year, recording a career-high 21 digs and two block assists.
Senior co-captain Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) had the Hoosiers' number again. She tied a career-high with 65 assists and added 24 digs for her 14th double-double of the season. She had recorded the first triple-double of her career in the Oct. 16 game with 11 kills, 27 digs and 57 assists.
Game one gave the crowd a taste of what to expect over the next two and a half hours, as neither team allowed the other a lead of more than three points. The opening game featured 13 ties and a flurry of long points in which both teams made save after diving save.
One such point came late in the game with the teams tied 27-27. A tumbling Lizzie Carlson (Palo Alto, Calif./Palo Alto) barely saved a Hoosier serve that had a radar lock on the far left corner of NU's zone. Carlson's save drifted toward the bleachers, but Robertson dove to save the ball, crashing into the first row in the process. Co-captain Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) returned the ball to Indiana's side where the Hoosiers showed a flair for dramatic saves as well.
Lindsay Cochrane ran down an errant Indiana dig deep into its back row and hit the ball so it nearly grazed the gym's ceiling lights. The ball eventually found its way back over to NU's side where Paulus took care of business and put the `Cats up 28-27.
The game went into a brief overtime period before Indiana closed it out with a 29-31 win.
The points were so long that Robertson nearly had a double-double by the end of the first frame, totaling 11 assists and seven digs. Further evidence of just how furiously the two teams battled one another was that the `Cats recorded 28 total digs in game one. IU finished with 25. Princeton ranks first in the country in average digs per game with 20.75.
In game two, the `Cats found themselves in a deep 20-12 hole but started to claw back on the strength of some unbelievable defense.
Two consecutive IU attack errors, followed by a kill from Purcell pulled NU to within three, 18-21. IU called a timeout to regroup, but returned to the court to find an unpleasant, Bar-B-Que-less block party in full swing.
Purcell stoned a Hoosier with a solo block. Freshman Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and Paulus followed with a block assist. Purcell then denied yet another Hoosier with a solo block to tie the game at 21-21, before Aldridge and Paulus teamed for another rejection. Four straight blocks and a Wildcat lead of 22-21.
NU rattled off four more points to get to 26-21 before Indiana finally stopped the 12-0 Wildcat run. It was too late though as NU rolled to a 30-25 victory.
The `Cats started game three with another impressive run, 5-0. Anderson punctuated the run by plastering a kill off a Hoosier. But IU fought back to tie the game at 12-12, and that was the closest NU would be from there on out. The Hoosiers went on to win 30-26.
Game four was all Anderson, all the time. She recorded 10 kills in the frame, leading the `Cats to the all-important fifth game with a 30-24 win.
NU closes the season against a hot Purdue team at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 27. The Boilermakers beat Wisconsin Friday night.
