Northwestern University Athletics
'Cats Close Homestand Against No. 18 Purdue and Indiana
11/14/2013 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Nov. 14, 2013
| vs. No. 18 Purdue (16-9, 7-7 B1G) |
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| Date | Friday, Nov. 15 | 7 p.m. |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @NUVball  | Facebook  |
| vs. Indiana (9-16, 1-13 B1G) |
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| Date | Sunday, Nov. 17 | Noon |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Listen Live | WNUR 89.7 |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @NUVball | Facebook |
| Match Notes | Northwestern | Purdue | http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nw/sports/w-volley/auto_pdf/2013-14/misc_non_event/IndianaNotes.pdf">Indiana |
The first time that the Wildcats faced the Boilermakers and Hoosiers this season, the team came away with a pair of five-set victories in West Lafayette and Bloomington, Ind. The weekend sweep marked the first time that Northwestern won back-to-back matches on the road in conference play since the 2009 campaign. Ironically, those wins were also against Purdue and Indiana.
Protect This House
The Wildcats have done a good job of protecting their home court at Welsh-Ryan Arena this season. The 'Cats are 9-4 in Evanston this season with the wins coming against Columbia, Belmont, Boise State, South Florida, Miami (OH), IUPUI, Iowa, No. 17 Ohio State and (rv) Illinois. Northwestern's losses have come against ranked foes - 12th-ranked Nebraska on Sept. 27, No. 4 Penn State on Oct. 20, No. 13 Michigan State on Nov. 8 and No. 17 Michigan on Nov. 10. The 'Cats have reached 11 home wins twice under head coach Keylor Chan, in 2010 and 2007. The school record for 17 home wins in a season belongs to the 1984 Big Ten Champion squad. In 2012, the 'Cats won just five of its 13 home matches.
Wildcats Welcome Class of 2018
Northwestern signed three talented high school seniors to National Letters of Intent on Wednesday, Nov. 13. Outside hitter Symone Abbott (Northville, Mich./Northville), middle blocker Gabrielle Hazen (Columbia City, Ind./Columbia City) and setter Taylor Tashima (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) all signed on the dotted line this week. Hazen and Tashima were listed prominently on PrepVolleyball.com's Top Senior Aces list, while Abbott is her school's all-time leader in kills and is rated as one of the top players from the state of Michigan. Click here to read more about the incoming class.
Fresh Faces
Northwestern has used four true freshmen on the court at various times this season. Newcomer Kayla Morin has started all 26 matches and played in all 102 games as an outside hitter for the Wildcats. After entering the floor in the second match of the season against Oklahoma, setter
Caleigh Ryan has played in all 87 sets and started all 22 matches since. Middle blocker Maddie Slater has appeared in 50 sets this season with 12 starts under her belt. Rafae Strobos played in three sets and made her first collegiate start at Hawai'i on Sept. 13. In fact, all four freshmen started against the Rainbow Wahine, joining veterans Stephanie Holthus and Savannah Paffen on the floor to begin that match.
Going the Distance
After becoming one of the last teams in the country to play a five-set match in 2012, Northwestern checked that off its list on opening night in 2013. This year, decisive sets were required in two of the team's first three matches after going five games only three times all of last season. With the triumph over instate rival Illinois on Oct. 23, the Wildcats have won five five-set matches in one season for the first time ever in the Keylor Chan era (since 2000). NU dropped only its second five-setter of the season on Nov. 2 at Nebraska.
Scouting Purdue
2013 Record: 16-9, 7-7 Big Ten, ranked No. 18 in this week's AVCA top 25 coaches poll
Series History: Purdue leads, 49-26
Last NU win: Oct. 20, 2013 at Belin Court (3-2)
Last PUR win: Nov. 3, 2012 at Welsh-Ryan Arena (3-0)
Head Coach: Dave Shondell (Ball State, '81)
Top Performers: KiKi Jones, Jr. MB (1.99 kps, .364 pct., 1.18 bps); Val Nichol, Jr. S/OH (2.69 kps, 6.03 aps, 1.81 dps); Carly Cramer, R-Sr. L (4.01 dps, 0.94 aces per set).
Notable: Remarkably consistent, Purdue is one of only six programs in the country to have reached the round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament in six of the past eight seasons. Two of the remaining five - Penn State and Nebraska - also belong to the Big Ten conference. The others are Florida, Texas and Stanford.
Scouting Indiana
2013 Record: 9-16, 1-13 Big Ten
Series History: Northwestern leads, 33-32
Last NU win: Oct. 19, 2013 at University Gym (3-2)
Last IU win: Nov. 2, 2013 at Welsh-Ryan Arena (3-0)
Head Coach: Sherry Dunbar (Ball State, '92)
Top Performers: Morgan Leach, Jr. RS (2.74 kps 0.52 bps); Awele Nwaeze, So. MB (0.83 bps, 2.30 kps); Caitlin Hansen, Sr. DS (3.66 dps, 0.63 aps).
Notable: Jordan Haverly became the fifth Hoosier all-time to surpass 1,500 career kills with her first kill of the night at Wisconsin on Sept 28. Her 1,607 career kills are the seventh most among active players nationally and the third-most in IU program history. Haverly missed the 2011 campaign after major reconstructive surgery on her knee after tearing her ACL, MCL, LCL and meniscus.
To view the complete notes packages, please download the PDF at the top of the page.
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