Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Cincinnati
Northwestern Sweeps Cincinnati To Capture Wildcat Classic Title
9/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 19, 2009
Northwestern vs. Cincinnati Box Score 
2009 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
Box Score
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In its final tune-up before Big Ten Conference play, Northwestern continued to show its resiliency, sweeping Cincinnati 25-20, 26-24, 25-20 to capture the 28th annual Wildcat Classic at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It marks the third-straight tournament win for coach Keylor Chan's Wildcats, who won their sixth-straight match.
Junior Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) was named the Wildcat Classic MVP after finishing with 13 kills, a .310 hitting percentage and five blocks against the Bearcats. She was joined on the all-tournament team by junior Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and senior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg). Glab had 34 assists, nine digs and five kills on the night, while Nobilio finished with 16 digs and seven assists.
Senior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) led Northwestern with 14 kills, while adding a pair of blocks and four digs. Junior Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) had six kills for the 'Cats while junior Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) and sophomore Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) each added four.
The victory is the ninth in the last 10 matches for Northwestern (9-3), who has already surpassed its win total from 2008. The victory over Cincinnati was the third this year over NCAA tournament teams, having also defeated Miami (Ohio) and Long Island.
Northwestern staked its claim early in set one, building a 14-9 lead on Cincinnati (9-5) midway through the set. The Wildcats would lead by as many as seven at 23-16 before holding off a late Bearcat rally to take the 25-20 victory.
Set two was neck-and-neck for the majority before Northwestern built a 24-20 advantage late and appeared positioned for another big victory. The Bearcats responded with four unanswered points to knot the set at 24, but a kill from Moffett and a Cincinnati attack error proved to be enough for the Wildcats survive with the 26-24 victory.
Playing in front of an energetic home crowd, NU set out to take care of business. They once again built a five point advantage at 20-15 late in set three, but this time they made sure there was little doubt. Northwestern kept Cincinnati at bay, with a Moffett kill icing the three-set victory.
Cincinnati's Stephanie Niemer tied a match-high with 14 kills and was named to the all-tournament team along with teammate Becca Refenes. Akron's Courtney Jarvis also earned all-tournament honors.
With the preseason schedule in its rear view mirror, Northwestern sets its sight on the Big Ten Conference slate, which begins with a bang. The Wildcats host two-time defending national champion and top-ranked Penn State in their conference opener Friday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. NU then hosts Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.
