Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Indiana
24th-Ranked Wildcats Sweep Hoosiers in Bloomington
11/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2010
No. 24 Northwestern 3, Indiana 0
Site: University Gymnasium - Bloomington, Ind.
Records: Northwestern (18-9, 8-8 Big Ten); Indiana (19-9, 7-9 Big Ten)
Up Next: at No. 8 Penn State - Friday, Nov. 19 - 6 p.m. CT
Box Score
Northwestern at Indiana Box Score 
2010 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Paced by a balanced offensive effort which saw three Wildcats notch double-digit kill totals, 24th-ranked Northwestern responded with a 25-23, 25-16, 25-23 sweep of Indiana at University Gymnasium. The Wildcats sweep the season series against the Hoosiers and currently sit in sole possession of sixth-place in the Big Ten standings.
"I'm really proud of the way the girls responded after the tough defeat last night," said head coach Keylor Chan. "Indiana is a great team and its tough to go into their place and get a victory. We wanted to make some adjustments from last night, and the girls were really eager to get this win tonight. The Big Ten continues to show why it is probably the top conference in the country, and this win tonight is a great step forward as we head towards the end of the season."
Northwestern's middle blocking tandem of Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) and Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) dominated at the nets for Northwestern, combining for 24 kills, a .550 hitting percentage and eight blocks between the pair. Moffett led the way with a team-best 13 kills on the night on 21 swings with just one error (.571 hitting percentage) while recording five blocks. Johnson was just as effective, finishing with 11 kills, a .526 hitting pct., three blocks and a pair of service aces.
Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) also cracked double digits in kills, finishing with 10 on the night with a .391 attack percentage. Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central) added five for Northwestern to go along with her eight digs. Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out 39 assists on the night, averaging 13 per set, with Alex Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount) leading the 'Cats in digs with nine.
What hurt Northwestern Friday night was giving up leads early in sets, and the Wildcats found themselves in a similar situation in the opener Saturday as Indiana burst out to a 7-3 advantage. But the Wildcats would rattle off a 9-2 run of its own to take the lead at 12-9, setting up a back-and-forth battle for the remainder of set one. The teams combined for 11 ties and seven lead changes until three-straight points had NU serving for set point at 24-22, a set they would clinch two points later off a kill from Ayers to take the opener 25-23.
Once again, it was the Hoosiers with the fast start in set two, recording seven of the first eight points to put the Wildcats in a deep hole early. Northwestern rallied back to tie the set at 11, and from that point on it was all Wildcats as NU closed out set two on a 14-5 run, outhitting Indiana .320 to -.037 to take a commanding 2-0 match lead with the 25-16 victory.
Northwestern did not allow a fast Indiana start in the third set, actually building an early 5-3 run of its own. The Hoosiers responded on its home court, rallying back to take a three-point advantage midway through the set, setting up another back-and-forth battle similar to set one as Northwestern and Indiana combined for 13 ties and three lead changes. With the set tied at 23, a Hoosier attack error set up match point for the Wildcats with Holthus sealing the sweep with the match-clinching kill.
With the victory, Northwestern completes the series sweep of Indiana for the second-straight season and has won four-straight in the series. The Wildcats now sit all alone in sixth-place in the Big Ten standings for the time being, one match back of fifth-place Purdue and a half-match ahead of Ohio State, who plays Wisconsin Sunday afternoon.
Northwestern continues its final road trip of the regular season next weekend with a pair of key Big Ten matches. Next up for the Wildcats is a trip to University Park, Pa., for a showdown with three-time defending national champion Penn State Friday, Nov. 20, beginning at 6 p.m. CT.
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