Northwestern
Purdue
Wildcats Spoil Boilermakers, Win 3-2
11/27/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 27, 2004
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern saved its best for last.
In their final match of the year Saturday night, the Wildcats (10-20, 5-15 Big Ten) beat Purdue 3-2 on its home floor to sweep the season-series and finish the year with two consecutive wins.
The win most likely spoils the Boilermakers' (16-14, 9-11) shot at postseason play, as they needed a win to assure themselves a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Purdue was red-hot coming into the match and had beaten a top-25 team on three different occasions this year. Translation: it is an extremely quality win for the young `Cats to build on come next year.
NU went the distance of five games for the second-consecutive night after disposing of the Hoosiers in five Friday night. And for the second-consecutive night, the `Cats turned to sophomore Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) in the decisive game to lead them to victory. After recording a team-leading five kills in the final game of Friday's match, Miss Crunch-Time one-upped herself by nailing eight kills in the closing game to upset the Boilermakers.
As usual, a host of Wildcats played a part in the victory. Junior co-captain Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend) had dozens of miraculous saves, totaling 30 digs on the night -- one shy of her career high. Sophomore Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) was crucial on the defensive end for NU too, posting 12 digs as one of four 'Cats to post double-digit digs on the night. NU also totaled 17.0 blocks, as freshman Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) led the way with nine block assists and two solo blocks
Freshman Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) brought the offensive pain to the Boilermakers with a team-leading 25 kills.
Senior co-captain Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) recorded her team-leading 15th double-double of the season with 55 assists and 23 digs. Freshman Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) posted her second-consecutive double-double with 18 kills and 13 digs.
From the onset of the match, NU shook off an emotional, Senior-Night crowd and dominated the first game. The `Cats never trailed after dropping the opening point. Paulus had a team-leading nine kills to go with an insanely good .636 hitting percentage in the opening frame.
As the `Cats cruised to a 27-22 lead, Purdue woke up and rattled off four straight points to pull within one. But Paulus drilled the next two points before Robertson and senior Leah Delcourt (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) slammed the door shut with a block assist, giving NU the win 30-26.
With the way the `Cats were playing for much of the second game, it looked as though they might leave West Lafayette with a sweep. Anderson took the offensive reins and recorded a team-high six kills in game two. A pair of early kills from her and Aldridge helped the `Cats to a 6-0 run and a 7-2 lead as NU was hitting on all cylinders.
The turning point came at the midway point of the game though, as Purdue battled back to tie it 16-16. A block by Purcell and Delcourt put the `Cats back on top at 22-21, but it was short-lived. Boilermaker Samantha Mader powered Purdue to a 30-24 game-two win with six kills in the frame.
Game three was close from start to finish, as neither team afforded the other a lead bigger than two points. The `Cats were kept close by Gardner, who put on a defensive clinic. She recorded 11 digs in the game, most of which she had no business getting to. While Gardner shouldered the defensive load, the `Cats spread their scoring out. Delcourt had her best game of the night, recording three kills and a .333 hitting percentage. She would finish the night with eight kills and five block assists in the final game of her career. Anderson pitched in six kills and Paulus added three more.
But senior Boilermaker Kim McConaha found her groove for Purdue and led her squad to a 30-28 victory off six kills.
Finding themselves down two games to one, the situation did not get much better for the `Cats in the early-goings of game four. Purdue had its way with NU and jumped out to a 21-15 lead. Just as things began to look grim though, the `Cats answered with a 4-0 run. A block assist by Robertson and Aldridge brought the game to 17-21 and Aldridge later teamed with Purcell to edge the `Cats closer at 21-23.
Purcell gave the `Cats their first lead of game at 25-24 with a vicious kill down the line. The Boilermakers turned to Brittany Dildine, who brought her wicked jump serve to the table that had been giving NU fits all night. Dildine tied the game up at 28-28. But Delcourt and Anderson forced a game five with two-consecutive kills.
Purdue gained some early momentum in game five by jumping out to a 3-0 lead. Purcell stepped up with a kill to even the score at 4-4. She then teamed with Aldridge for a block assist to give the `Cats the lead on the next play. Head Coach Keylor Chan subbed in freshman serving specialist Cally Stolbach (Tampa, Fla./Berkeley Prep) at the halfway point to give the `Cats a sure thing from the service line and Delcourt tied the game again at 8-8. Aldridge joined Anderson for another block assist to seemingly secure the match by giving NU a 14-11 lead.
But Purdue energized the crowd once again by going on a 2-0 run with Dildine serving and pulled within one point of the lead. Dildine's next serve never got over the net though, bringing the match to a close, as the `Cats earned their 10th win of the season.
NU finishes the season with a 10-20 overall record and a 5-15 mark in the conference.
