Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Welcome Iowa for Sunday Matinee
10/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 19, 2012
Northwestern (13-7, 2-7 Big Ten) vs. Iowa (10-12, 2-7 Big Ten)
Sunday, Oct. 21
Welsh-Ryan Arena (8,117)
Evanston, Ill. • 2 p.m.
TV: Big Ten Network (Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello-Nelson)
GameTracker: NUsports.com
In-game Twitter updates: @NU_SportsLIVE
Northwestern Match Notes (PDF)
EVANSTON, Ill -- Northwestern returns home Sunday for the first time since Oct. 6 to take on the Iowa Hawkeyes in a nationally-televised contest at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The match marks the first of two appearances this season for the Wildcats on the Big Ten Network.
Road Warriors
After playing seven of nine matches at Welsh-Ryan Arena between Sept. 14-Oct. 6, Northwestern began a stretch where it plays five of six contests away from home. The Wildcats opened their long stretch away from home on Oct. 12 with a win at No. 25 Michigan State. NU returns to Evanston to face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Sunday, Oct. 21. The segment ends at Minnesota and Wisconsin on Oct. 26 and Oct. 28, respectively. Northwestern is 10-3 away from home this season, with its only losses thus far coming at the hands of 13th-ranked Purdue on Sept. 28, (rv) Michigan on Oct. 13 and No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday.
Maddy's Milestones
Fifth-year senior setter Madalyn Shalter recorded the 1,000th dig of her career on Oct. 12 at No. 25 Michigan State, becoming the 14th player in program history to achieve the feat. The Ottawa, Ohio, native also entered the top-10 in program history in assists on Sept. 28 at Purdue and now owns 2,123 career helpers. Shalter needs 90 digs to join the all-time top-10 in that category and could become the first player in program history to rank in the top-10 in both digs and assists. She already joins Liz Renius ('95-'98) as the only Wildcats to record more than 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs.
Finally Going Five
Northwestern became the last team in the Big Ten to play a five-set match this season Wednesday night in Champaign. The 11 other member schools have played at least two five-set matches each this season, while Illinois has played the most with nine, including five or its last six. The last time that the Wildcats won a five-set match came on Nov. 11, 2011 against Ohio State at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Entering the week, Northwestern was one of six teams nationwide without a five-set match this season.
We Can Dig It
Iowa and Northwestern enter Sunday's match ranked first and second, respectively in the Big Ten in digs this season. The Hawkeyes average 16.20 digs per set, while the Wildcats are just below that mark with 15.93 per set. Iowa's Bethany Yeager leads all players in the conference with 4.77 digs per set, while NU's Madalyn Shalter is 10th with 3.35. Northwestern finished the 2011 season second in the Big Ten in digs behind Minnesota, while the Hawkeyes were seventh out of 12.
Scouting Iowa
2012: 10-12, 2-7 Big Ten
This Week: L vs. No. 4 Nebraska (0-3).
Last Week: L vs. No. 10 Minnesota (1-3); L vs. Wisconsin (2-3).
Head Coach: Sharon Dingman (Northern Michigan, '84). Fifth season at Iowa (55-93; .374) and 22nd overall (391-305; .563).
All-Time Series: Northwestern leads, 37-26-1.
Notable: In their last road match on Oct. 6, the Hawkeyes won at 12th-ranked Purdue, 3-0, to earn their second conference win of the season. The victory in West Lafayette, Ind., marked Iowa's first win at Purdue and first sweep of the Boilermakers since Nov. 10, 2000. It also marked the fourth win over a ranked foe for head coach Sharon Dingman, and her first victory over a ranked team on the road. No. 12 Purdue is the highest-ranked team the Hawkeyes have defeated during her tenure. Coupled with a win at Indiana on Oct. 5, it marked the first time Iowa has won two-straight league contests since 2008 and consecutive league road matches since 2005.
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