Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois
Wildcats Silence Illini, 3-1
11/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 5, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern got a season-best 23 kills from sophomore Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and hit .324 as a team Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena to defeat Illinois in four games, 30-21, 25-30, 30-26, 30-25.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 14-10 overall, 5-9 in the Big Ten, and sweep the season series from the Illini for the first time since 2002. Illinois falls to 13-12, 4-10 in the conference.
Northwestern opened the match with a convincing, 30-21 win in game one. The 'Cats used runs of 9-4 and 8-3 to blow the game wide open after Illinois tied the score early on, 9-9.
NU used precise hitting to get its points, attacking at a .389 clip in the game (18-4-36).
Game two saw Northwestern gradually build itself a lead, taking its biggest advantage of four points, 18-14, on a Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) ace. From there, Illinois took control of the game, finishing on a 16-7 run to even the match with a 30-25 win.
Game two was the only stanza of the match in which the Wildcats did not hit better than .300 as a team.
Northwestern responded by grinding out a win in the third game. The Wildcats took their first lead of the game since the early going, 14-13, on a service error by Rachel VanMeter. NU eventually built that lead to five, 26-21, before Illinois went on a 4-0 run to close to within one, 26-25.
Kills by Anderson, freshman Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and sophomore Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) helped the Wildcats capture four of the final five points of the game to win, 30-26, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
Game four was again close until a 3-0 NU burst with the score 17-16 in favor of the 'Cats provided some separation. After Illinois chipped into the lead, 25-23, a 4-0 Northwestern run made the score 29-23 to virtually seal the match for the Wildcats.
Northwestern eventually won the fourth game, 30-25, and the match, 3-1. The 'Cats hit a match-best .444 (20-4-36) in the final game.
Anderson's 23 kills mark the highest total for any Wildcat this season, her best effort of the year and the second-best of her career.
Paulus finished with her fourth-consecutive double-double, recording 10 kills and 13 digs. Junior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) had 12 kills while Hyser added 11.
Sophomore Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) hit a game-high .500 (8-0-16) for Northwestern. Hyser (.471), Anderson (.356) and Jurivich (.300) all also hit .300 or better Saturday night.
Senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) had a team-best 17 digs, giving her 404 on the year. That total is tied for fifth-best on NU's single-season list, a record which Gardner set last year (460).
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 11, at No. 18 Minnesota.
