Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Opens 2007 Season as Hosts of Chicago Challenge
8/22/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 22, 2007
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Watch a video season preview with Courtnie Paulus on All-Access.
Season Outlook from 2007 Media Guide in PDF Format
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Northwestern's Chicago Challenge Notes in PDF FormatDownload Free Acrobat Reader
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Summer is over, preseason camps are wrapping up and the time has come to lift the curtain on the 2007-08 athletic season. Northwestern begins the new year Aug. 24-25 as hosts of the Chicago Challenge at Welsh-Ryan Arena, welcoming Loyola (Chicago), Illinois-Chicago and DePaul.
After the Flames and Blue Demons open the tournament at 4:30 p.m. Friday, the Wildcats take the court at 7 p.m. for their first match of the year, taking on the Ramblers. Friday's losers will play in the consolation match at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, while the winners will meet at 7 p.m for the championship.
The 2007 Chicago Challenge marks the first time Northwestern has hosted the event since its inaugural edition in 1995. The Wildcats have participated in the Challenge seven times, compiling a 16-3 record with five titles.
Under head coach Keylor Chan Northwestern is 18-5 all time at home in nonconference matches, with a perfect 8-0 record in the last two years, including a victory over then-No. 24 Arizona at the 2006 Wildcat Classic. The Wildcats' last loss in a nonconference match at Welsh-Ryan Arena came against then-No. 13 Stanford in 2004.
Northwestern returns a wealth of experience for the 2007 campaign, headlined by a quartet of seniors who all are three-year starters. Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) currently is 15th in school history with 1,090 kills, while Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) needs 114 kills to join Anderson in the 1,000-Kill club.
Fifth-year senior and setter Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) had 1,215 assists last year, the sixth-best total in school single-season history, and Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) starts her senior campaign 14 total blocks shy of joining NU's all-time leaders in that category.
Junior middle blocker Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) is fast on Aldridge's heels in the NU blocking record book, and sophomore Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) is the Big Ten's top returning libero (although she was left off the preseason All-Big Ten team by the coaches, who selected not one single DS or libero).
For a complete 2007 season preview notes package including quotes from Chan, click on the "Season Outlook from 2007 Media Guide" .pdf link at the top of this page. For Northwestern's complete Chicago Classic game notes package, click on the "Northwestern's Chicago Challenge Notes" .pdf link at the top of this page.
The Tournament
Friday, August 24
DePaul vs. Illinois-Chicago 4:30 p.m.
Loyola (Chicago) vs. Northwestern 7 p.m.
Saturday, August 25
Consolation Match 4:30 p.m.
Championship Match 7 p.m.
Northwestern's Tournament History
Northwestern will host the Challenge for the first time since its inaugural edition in 1995. The Wildcats have a 16-3 record in the event, participating from 1995-98 and from 2003-05. In the seven times NU has taken part in the event, it has won five times while finishing third in 1995 and second in 2004. This year is a two-match, tournament format, replacing round-robin play for the first time since 1998.
Series Records
Loyola (Chicago): Northwestern leads, 14-3
DePaul: Northwestern leads, 16-7-1
Illinois-Chicago: Northwestern leads, 22-4
On The Web
Gametracker for all matches and live streaming video for NU matches will be available at NUsports.com this weekend.
