Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Iowa
Holthus' Double-Double Leads Wildcats' Sweep of Hawkeyes
10/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 30, 2010
No. 24 Northwestern 3, Iowa 0
Site: Carver-Hawkeye Arena • Iowa City, Iowa
Records: Northwestern (16-7, 6-6 Big Ten); Iowa (6-15, 1-11 Big Ten)
Up Next: vs. Illinois • Friday, Nov. 5 • 7 p.m.
Box Score
Northwestern at Iowa Box Score 
2010 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Paced by a double-double from Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central), Northwestern returned to the win column, sweeping Iowa 25-16, 25-23, 25-19 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. With the victory, Northwestern evens its Big Ten record at 6-6 and remains in a tie for fifth-place overall in the conference standings.
"It was a good win for us tonight; a much needed one," said head coach Keylor Chan. "I thought we put together a good team effort tonight with a handful of players coming up in key moments. Any time you can get a road win in the Big Ten, it is a good night, so we feel good about this victory tonight. Now the challenge is to carry this momentum into a solid week of practice for next weekend."
Holthus finished with 10 kills and 14 digs on the night for the seventh double-double of her young career while adding three blocks. Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) added nine kills for the Wildcats with Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) finishing with eight and Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) knocking down seven.
Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out 34 assists on the night, averaging over 11 per set, while the defensive effort was led by Julie Chin's (Naperville, Ill./North) 18 digs. Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) was the third Wildcat to post double-digit dig totals, finishing with 10. The Wildcats held a 9-4 edge in service aces as Shalter led the way with three, complemented by a pair each from Chin and Alex Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount).
In front of a live Big Ten Network national audience, Northwestern gained the momentum early in the opening stanza, recording 12 of the first 15 points to pounce out to a commanding nine-point advantage. The Wildcats extended their cushion to as many as 10 at 22-12, then held off a late Hawkeye rally to take set one 25-16. Holthus and Kaelin each knocked down five kills with Glab dishing out 15 assists.
The momentum gained in set one carried into the second as Northwestern opened up the stanza with an 11-6 run. After a Hawkeye point, the Wildcats broke the set open with a 5-0 run, taking a commanding lead at 16-7. Iowa made it interesting, outscoring NU 15-6 to knot the match up at 22 apiece, but the Wildcats recorded three of the last four points, including Holthus' fourth kill of the set to seal the second 25-23.
The early stages of set three saw a back-and-forth battle between Northwestern and Iowa as the two teams combined for six ties and five lead changes. But holding a 15-14 advantage, the Wildcats took control for good, stringing together a 7-1 run to build a 22-15 edge and never looked back. Iowa staged one last rally, getting to within four at 23-19, but a pair of hitting errors by the Hawkeyes.
Northwestern sweeps the season series against Iowa for the first time since 2007 and has now won three-straight against the Hawkeyes. The Wildcats end the weekend with a 6-6 Big Ten mark, tied with Purdue and Ohio State for fifth-place in the conference standings with eight matches remaining in the regular season.
Northwestern now returns home for a pair of Big Ten rivalry matches, beginning Friday when the Wildcats host sixth-ranked Illinois. Northwestern and the Illini staged a classic five-set battle on Oct. 2 in Champaign as now the Wildcats will look to return the favor against their in-state rivals. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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