Northwestern University Athletics
Wildcats Bound for Columbus to Battle Buckeyes
10/10/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
| No. 24 Northwestern (13-3, 3-2 B1G) at (rv) Ohio State (12-5, 3-2 B1G) |
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| Date | Time | October 11 | 5:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | St. John Arena | Columbus, Ohio |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | BTN and BTN2GO (Mike Wolf and Audrey Flaugh) |
| Social Media | @NUVball  | Northwestern Volleyball  | @nu_volleyball  |
| Notes (PDF) | Northwestern | Ohio State |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 24 Northwestern looks to get back into the win column Saturday, Oct. 11, as it continues a four-match road trip in Columbus, Ohio against the red-hot Ohio State Buckeyes. The first serve is slated for 5:30 p.m. and the contest will be carried live on the Big Ten Network.
Poll Presence
After receiving votes in five consecutive editions, Northwestern finally cracked the top 25 in the weekly AVCA coaches poll on Monday. The Wildcats check in at No. 24 this week following a takedown of 18th-ranked Minnesota at home on Sunday. Until this week, the `Cats had not appeared in the top 25 since Nov. 15, 2010 when they were recognized for the eighth consecutive week. Northwestern was slotted at 22 in the first RPI of the season that was released the same day.
Hitting Their Stride
After hitting .216 as a team in 2013, the Wildcats have increased their hitting percentage to .264 through 16 matches this season. That number ranks fifth in the deep and talented Big Ten Conference and 33rd in the NCAA through Oct. 8. Individually, middle blocker Katie Dutchman is leading the Purple and White with a hitting percentag of .408, ranking second in the Big Ten and 22nd in the country. On the other side of the net, Northwestern's opponents attacked at a clip of .228 a year ago, but that number is down to just .164. The 'Cats rank third in the conference in opponent hitting percentage behind Penn State and Michigan State.
Digging In
Redshirt junior libero Caroline Niedospial has been a strong anchor for Northwestern's back row this season. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native leads all players in Big Ten matches only with 5.47 digs per set, and ranks second in all matches with 4.80. Niedospial has three of the top five dig performances in three-set matches in program history, including two this year. She collected 25 digs on Sunday against No. 18 Minnesota, and also on Sept. 22, 2013 against IUPUI. Niedospial's 26 digs against Virginia on Sept. 13 helped her to claim her first-ever Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award. That was the second-best output at Northwestern in a three-set match behind Kate Nobilio's 31 (vs. Towson, Sept. 8, 2007). With a match-high 15 digs at No. 5 Penn State on Wednesday, Niedospial became the 16th Wildcat in program history to record at least 1,000 career digs (1,010).
Abbott Adds Another Weekly Award
For the second consecutive week and the third time in four weeks, one of Northwestern's talented newcomers took home Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Monday. Outside hitter Symone Abbott claimed the accolade this week after averaging 5.7 kills per set in two matches against No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 18 Minnesota. In NU's three-set victory over the Golden Gophers on Oct. 5, Abbott buried a career-high 21 kills and hit .319 on the day. Freshman setter Taylor Tashima was named the conference's Freshman of the Week on Sept. 29, while Abbott won her first award on Sept. 15 after a strong performance at the Wildcat Classic.
B1G Start
Northwestern won three of its first four Big Ten matches this season for the first time since the 2010 campaign. This season marks the third time in 15 years under head Keylor Chan that the Wildcats have opened conference play by winning 75 percent of their first four contests. The 'Cats also did so in 2010 and 2002, and both of those seasons culminated with NCAA Tournament appearances.
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