Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
14-8, 4-8Big Ten
Michigan State
13-10, 6-6Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 17 | 18 | 16 | 0 |
| Michigan State | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Wildcats Stumble at Michigan State
11/1/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Northwestern dropped the second match of its weekend swing through the Great Lake State Saturday night, falling to the Michigan State Spartans at Jenison Field House, 3-0 (25-17, 25-18, 25-16). The Wildcats split the road trip after topping Michigan on Friday night, 3-1.
Northwestern did not get out to an ideal start against the Spartans. The Wildcats netted the night's first point on a kill by Taylor Tashima, but the Spartans tallied the next seven in a row, forcing NU head coach Keylor Chan to use an early timeout to stop the run. Katie Dutchman scored her first kill of the evening out of the stoppage, but Michigan State continued to be the aggressor as it built up a 15-5 advantage. When Chan called his second timeout at that point, MSU was hitting .571 as a team, while the 'Cats had only three kills, but also three errors.
Northwestern hung around and cut the deficit to six points on a few occasions, most recently at 21-15. Dutchman and Kayla Morin teamed up for a block to get the 'Cats that close, but they could not come all the way back, falling in set one, 25-17. NU ended up hitting .250 in game one with 12 kills and four errors on 32 swings, but the Spartans were able to side the ball out at a clip of 75 percent (12-16) to help secure the eight-point victory in game.
Unforced errors plagued the Wildcats as the second set opened. Michigan State built an early 10-4 lead, but four of its 10 points came from Northwestern serving errors. Pushed as they did, the 'Cats were unable to come any close than five points the rest of the frame. NU last got to within five points at 15-20 after a kill from Savannah Paffen, one of two she tallied in the frame. Michigan State led 24-16 and the Wildcats stayed alive with a kill from Dutchman and an ace by Morin before Chloe Reinig buried a kill to give the Spartans a 25-18 triumph.
Dutchman, who celebrated a birthday Saturday, led all players with six kills in the second set and through two games the redshirt senior was attacking at a clip of .729 (10 kills, zero errors, 13 attempts). As a team, NU was much more efficient in set to with a mark of .324 (15-4-34), but MSU improved as well. The Spartans hit .560 in the second set (15-1-25) as they took a 2-0 lead into the locker room at the intermission.
Michigan State got out of the chute fast once again in set No. 3. The home scored eight of the frame's first 11 points, prompting to Chan to use a timeout. It would not get any easier for the Wildcats from that point forward as they were hampered by seven attacking errors in the third set as the Spartans went on to win, 25-16.
Dutchman finished the match with a season-high 14 kills, however no other NU attacker reached double figures Saturday. Northwestern's Caroline Niedospial led all players with a match-high 19 digs, while Caleigh Ryan paced the Purple and Black with 19 assists.
The Wildcats return home to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 5 when they will host in-state rival Illinois in the first of two matches between the two squads next week. All fans who arrive to the match on Wednesday wearing PURPLE will be able to purchase day-of-match tickets for just $1 while supplies last. The Welsh-Ryan Arena box office opens at 6 p.m. for a 7 p.m. first serve.
••••••
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and Instagram, become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook and sign up to receive promotional text alerts for the latest news, schedule updates and video and to interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!
