Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Southern Illinois (Wildcat Classic)
Northwestern Sweeps Salukis, 3-0
9/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2005
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern hit better than .300 in all three games of a Saluki sweep to open its Wildcat Classic Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, downing Southern Illinois 30-26, 30-23, 30-23.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 7-1 overall on the season and 1-0 in the tournament. SIU falls to 2-5 on the year. In other opening-round action Friday, Brown took Kentucky to five games before the blue Wildcats came out on top, 3-2.
Northwestern hit .306 in game one, .318 in the second game and .314 in the third during a steady performance.
Sophomore Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) led NU with a match-best 16 kills and also had 11 digs for her third double-double of the year. Sophomore Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) hit double-digit kills (10) for the first time this season and recorded a career-best .750 hitting percentage.
Senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) dug a match-high 15 balls.
Northwestern sped out to an 8-2 lead in game one, then extended that advantage to seven, 16-9, later in the game on a Cassie McLaughlin (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) kill.
The Salukis made it a dog fight, pulling back to within one, 23-22, before the Wildcats pulled away to a 30-26 win.
Game two was much closer throughout until NU put together an 8-2 run late in the game to open up a 28-20 lead. Junior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) closed out the game, 30-23, on a kill assisted by Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius).
Southern Illinois held its first lead of the match in game three, 3-1, but NU made it 3-3 on a Jurivich stuff and never trailed again. NU held its biggest cushion at 26-18 when freshman Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) made a solo block before the Wildcats finished the match out, 30-23.
Northwestern returns to action tomorrow (Saturday, Sept. 17) at 10 a.m. against Brown. Immediately following that match, Kentucky will face SIU at noon.
The evening session pits Brown against the Salukis at 5 p.m. with Northwestern and Kentucky playing at 7 p.m. to round out the 2005 Wildcat Classic.
