Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
12-2 (2-1B1G)
Wisconsin
11-2 (2-1B1G)
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
| Northwestern | 20 | 16 | 23 | 0 |
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Northwestern's Seven-Match Winning Streak Snapped by Badgers
10/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern fought hard until the final point, but ultimately did not have enough firepower to overcome the sixth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday night. The Badgers handed the Wildcats their first loss at home this season in straight sets (25-20, 25-16, 25-23).
Northwestern loss was only its second of the season and its first since Sept. 6 at No. 15 San Diego.
The visitors from Madison, Wis. jumped out to a quick 4-1 lead on Wednesday, but the Wildcats had an immediate answer. Northwestern produced a lengthy 8-1 run that featured three service aces - two from Kayla Morin and one from Candice Yager - plus kills from Symone Abbott, Taylor Tashima and Katie Dutchman to take a 9-5 lead early in the match.
Wisconsin clawed back and after Dutchman served an ace to tie the score at 11 points apiece, the Badgers would take the lead for good on a kill by Haleigh Nelson. The home team would knot it up one more time at 17-17 when Morin connected on one of her four kills during the set off a feed from Tashima, but a quick three-point run by the Badgers paved the way to an eventual 25-20 triumph.
Northwestern hit a very respectable .312 in the first game with 14 kills and four errors on 32 attempts, but Wisconsin outdid that number. The Badgers hit .481 with just one miscue and the ball was spread out all over the floor. Four Wisconsin players had at least three kills in the opening stanza.
Abbott and Dutchman opened the second set with back-to-back kills, but Wisconsin scored the next three and seemingly never looked back. The Badgers pushed the its lead to six points at 11-5 to force a Northwestern timeout, but the edge only grew from there. The 'Cats trailed by as many as 11 points before a late rally pulled them as close as six scores at 22-16. The deficit was too much to overcome, however, and the sixth attacking error of the frame by Northwestern gave Wisconsin a 25-16 triumph and a 2-0 lead at intermission.
The third set was close once again at its onset. The two sides went back and forth and neither team led by more than two points when Abbott buried one of her match-best 13 kills to tie the score at 11-11. NU surrendered a 4-0 run after that sequence, however, and shortly thereafter found itself down by eight points, 21-13. The 'Cats wouldn't quit, however.
Wisconsin had its first chance to secure match point with a 24-18 lead late in the third. First it was Morin with a kill, then a pair from Abbott and one by Dutchman and all of the sudden, Northwestern was down by only a pair. Wisconsin called its first timeout of the entire match as it clung to a two-point cushion, but the Wildcats weren't done battling yet. After the quick respite, Abbott hammered down her seventh kill of the third set to get her team to within one point. Unfortunately it was too little, too late for the home team though, and Kelli Bates scored on the next sequence for the Badgers to give them a 25-23 triumph and a straight-set victory.
Abbott had 13 kills Wednesday on 24 attempts with only two errors to achieve a hitting percentage of .458. That marks the third time in the young freshman's career that she's eclipsed .450 in a match. In three Big Ten matches this season, the Northville, Mich., native is averaging a team-high 3.55 kills per set at a clip of .314.
Morin and Dutchman each finished with nine kills, while the latter hit a season-high .667. The redshirt senior had only one error on 12 swings and she added two aces and an assist for the Wildcats. Caroline Niedopsial led all players with 16 digs Wednesday and Morin was also in double digits with 11.
Northwestern finally concludes its season-long nine-match homestand with a matinee on Sunday, Oct. 5 at 1 p.m. against No. 18 Minnesota. The Wildcats have won two of the last three matchups against the Golden Gophers at Welsh-Ryan Arena dating back to 2010.
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