Northwestern University Athletics
Weekend Swing Through Michigan Awaits Northwestern
10/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2005
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off a win Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena, Northwestern departs on a two-week road trip beginning this weekend at Michigan and Michigan State.
The Wildcats take on the Wolverines at 6 p.m. CT Friday night before facing the Spartans at 7 p.m. CT Saturday evening.
Northwestern defeated Indiana in its last outing -- its first game against a non-ranked opponent in more than two weeks. NU has played the toughest rotation so far in the conference, already having faced all five Big Ten teams ranked in the CSTV/AVCA top 25.
The Wildcats (11-7, 2-6) fell to those ranked foes, but defeated the two teams it faced during that stretch that were not ranked. NU's conference-opening loss to Iowa is the only result to buck the trend.
Junior Cassie McLaughlin's (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) career night against the Hoosiers propelled her into the top-10 in the conference with a .325 hitting percentage on the year. McLaughlin hit a career-high .619 with a season-best 15 kills in the match.
Her percentage bested her previous high of .615, set during her ACC and AVCA East Region Freshman of the Year campaign at Florida State.
The countdown to the Northwestern career digs record is on for senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East). She is currently third on the list with 1,355 -- just 76 away from overtaking Janine Maker (1985-88) for the top spot.
Michigan (9-8, 3-5) is continuing the conference trend of scheduling big promotions against Northwestern to get a little extra help from the crowd. NU will face the Wolverines on "Rock the House" night, an annual event along the lines of Purdue's "Pack Mackey" promotion aimed at getting as many people as possible to attend the match.
Michigan State (9-9, 2-6) enters the weekend tied with Northwestern in the Big Ten standings. Katie Johnson leads the Spartans with 5.21 kills per game. Mickey Davis' .260 attack percentage is tops for MSU.
