Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Illinois-Chicago
Wildcats Capture Chicagoland Classic Title, Routing Flames 3-0
8/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 28, 2010
Northwestern 3, Illinois-Chicago 0
2010 Chicagoland Classic Championship (Hosted by DePaul)
Site: McGrath Arena • Chicago, Ill.
Records: Northwestern (2-0); Illinois-Chicago (1-1)
Up Next: Mississippi at Welsh-Ryan Arena
Friday, Sept. 3 • 7 p.m.
Box Score |
Photo Gallery 
Northwestern vs. Illinois-Chicago Box Score 
2010 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
CHICAGO, Ill. -- "Domination" was the word of the weekend for Northwestern, capturing the 2010 Chicagoland Classic title in convincing fashion after a 25-10, 25-7, 25-9 rout of Illinois-Chicago at McGrath Arena on the campus of DePaul University. Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) finished with seven kills and eight blocks en route to earning tournament MVP honors, with Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) and Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) being named to the all-tournament team.
"I don't think I could have asked for a better opening weekend," said head coach Keylor Chan. "The seniors have really led this team in the preseason, and have infused that will to win to the underclassmen, who have caught the vision. Everyone played incredible tonight, and it was fun as a coach to watch them perform."
Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central) led all players with nine kills on the night, including seven in the final set. Moffett, Johnson and Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) each posted seven as the Wildcats hit .465 as a team and set a new program record with just four errors on the night.
After dominating Loyola (Chicago) in the final two sets Friday evening, Northwestern kept up that aggressive play in Saturday's opener. The Wildcats knocked down seven of the first eight points and never looked back, roaring past the Flames 25-10.
Service aces were the story of set two for Northwestern as Alex Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount) recorded a pair on her first two serves, followed by back-to-back aces from Johnson a few points later. Shalter, Mary Grace Gallagher (Atlanta, Ga./The Lovett School) and Julie Chin (Naperville, Ill./North) also added aces of their own. Ayers would then finish off the set with back-to-back-to-back aces as the Wildcats dominated 25-7.
With the title on the line, Northwestern once again made quick work of UIC, pouncing out to a quick 10-1 lead. Holthus posted seven kills in the closing stanza, finishing with a team-best nine on the night, and Moffett knocked down the match-clincher as the Wildcats capped the night with a 25-9 decision.
Moffett led the way with eight blocks on the night, complemented by three each from Holthus and Glab, who also dished out 33 assists on the night.
Northwestern now opens up its 2010 home slate, hosting the Northwestern Challenge at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Friday, Sept. 3 and Saturday, Sept. 4. The Wildcats welcome Mississippi, Morehead State and Utah to Evanston and face the Rebels in their home opener at 7 p.m. Friday night. Tickets for the Northwestern Challenge and the entire 2010 volleyball season are now on sale online or by contacting the Northwestern ticket office at (847) 491-CATS (2287).
MATCH NOTES
• Northwestern improved to 25-4 in the all-time series and have won the last 10 against Illinois-Chicago.
• Saturday night's match time was 58 minutes, including the 10-minute intermission.
• Northwestern has won its last four preseason tournaments, with Moffett picking up MVP honors in all four.
• The four errors set a new program-low, besting the seven that the Wildcats posted three times in 2009.
• Five different players combined for nine service aces in the second set, including five from Ayers, which is a career-best.
• Johnson recorded seven kills on eight attempts with no errors for a whopping .875 hitting percentage.
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