Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Wildcats Strike First, But Fall to Iowa, 3-1
9/27/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 27, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics 
Box Score
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Northwestern took the opening set against host Iowa, but the Hawkeyes continued their impressive start to the season by taking the next three and defeating the Wildcats 3-1 (18-25, 25-18, 25-23, 25-19) at Carver-Hawkeye Arena Saturday evening. NU drops to 6-7 on the year and 0-2 in Big Ten Conference play.
Coming off a hard-fought loss to 12th-ranked Minnesota Friday night, Northwestern responded by being the aggressor early against Iowa (11-4, 2-0), pouncing out to a 15-7 lead midway through the opening set. It extended that cushion to 10 at 22-12, then finished off the Hawkeyes for the 25-18 victory. Sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) came up big for the `Cats in the opening set with six kills and four blocks, while senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and sophomore Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) each added five kills of their own. Sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) also had 12 assists and six digs for NU to compliment the six digs from junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg).
Iowa, coming off its upset of 18th-ranked Wisconsin Friday night, took control of the second set, using a 7-0 run to take the 14-7 lead. Northwestern was able to trim that lead to five, but couldn't get any closer as the Hawkeyes took the second set 25-18. Hyser led the Wildcat attack with four kills while Moffett added three. Glab continued her consistent play for NU, adding eight assists and four digs.
In a closely contested third set, Iowa used a 6-2 run to push its lead to four at 19-15. The Wildcats were able to cut the deficit to one at 24-23, but NU couldn't get over the hump as a kill by the Hawkeye's Laura Kremer gave Iowa the 25-23 set victory and the 2-1 advantage. Again, it was Moffett who sparked the NU offensive attack with four kills, complimented by three from junior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja). Five digs from Nobilio anchored the `Cats defense while Glab added 15 assists and three digs.
The fourth set played out as another back-and-forth affair early, with Iowa building a slight 17-15 lead. The Hawkeyes would extend that lead to five at 21-16, then closed out the set on a 4-3 run to take the set 25-19 and clinch the match. Thanks to 20 kills from Aimee Huffman, Iowa snaps a six-match Wildcat winning streak at Carver-Hawkeye.
Moffett again stepped up for Northwestern with 14 kills and five blocks, with Hyser adding 11 kills and three blocks of her own. Johnson and freshman Alexandra Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount) also added eight kills for the `Cats. Glab came up big for Northwestern with 41 assists and 15 digs, second only to 17 for Nobilio, while Baxterback added 12 digs to go along with her five kills.
Northwestern now returns home for a three-match set at Welsh-Ryan Arena, beginning Friday, Oct. 3, when the Wildcats host Ohio State. The `Cats then face 20th-ranked Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 4 with both matches beginning at 7 p.m.
