Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Cap Successful Spring
5/10/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
May 10, 2005
EVANSTON, Ill. -- For a young Northwestern squad featuring four returning freshmen starters, this spring was an important step to not only work on volleyball, but bond together as a team. Following a trip to Florida and a pair of local tournaments, the Wildcats defeated NCAA finalist Minnesota, 3-1, to serve notice that this fall will be an exciting one.
NU began its spring schedule with a training trip to Florida, where the team was able to get to know each other outside of volleyball activities, while also drilling and scrimmaging with Miami.
"With such a young group, it is important for them to be able to bond," NU head coach Keylor Chan said. "It was a good trip for the girls, and we had a lot of fun doing things other than just volleyball."
The Wildcats returned from the Sunshine State to finish 3-1 in the Pelos Courts Tournament in Evergreen Park, Ill. NU played well in defeating Eastern Illinois, Marquette and Duke at the event.
Northwestern also came away from the Loyola Tournament with a winning record, posting a 5-4 mark.
The exclamation point of the spring came at Minnesota. The squads traveled and treated the match just like a regular-season Big Ten meeting, and the event certainly had that sort of feel.
"We played in front of 1,000 people at Minnesota," Chan said. "It was a great atmosphere and great experience for our team."
After dropping the first game of the match, Northwestern reeled off three consecutive victories to defeat the Golden Gophers, 3-1. Minnesota fell to Stanford in the championship game of the 2004 NCAA Tournament.
"We wanted to see positive growth from the girls this spring, and we definitely saw that," Chan said. "We are very excited to work this summer and have this success continue into the 2005 season."
