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15-11, 5-10Big Ten
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 25 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 1 |
| Minnesota | 20 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
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Despite Tashima's Triple-Double, Wildcats Fall at Minnesota
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
MINNEAPOLIS -- For the second time in a week Northwestern freshman Taylor Tashima recorded a triple-double, but this time it wasn't enough as Northwestern fell to Minnesota at the Sports Pavilion in Minneapolis, 3-1 (20-25, 25-20, 25-18, 25-15).
Behind 12 kills, 24 assists and 15 digs, Tashima recorded the fourth triple-double in Big Ten play this season, but she became the first player to do so more than once. The Wilmette, Ill., native also hitting an eye-popping .706 (13 kills, no errors, 17 attempts) Wednesday night, which marked a career high.
The first frame was tied at 12 points apiece before Northwestern's freshmen went on a three-point run to give the 'Cats a three-point lead. Symone Abbott tallied her first two kills of the match in succession before Tashima served an ace that forced Minnesota head coach Hugh McCutcheon to use the night's first timeout. The Gophers scored out of the stoppage, but the Wildcats went on another four-point run that culminated with an ace from the jump serving Monica McGreal and a kill from middle blocker Maddie Slater to give NU its largest lead thus far at 20-13.
The 'Cats continued to play rock solid defense and they eventually pushed the lead to eight points at 23-15 after a kill from Kayla Morin, but the Gophers rallied to cut the deficit in half. The home team fought off one set point, but Abbott buried her fifth kill of the frame to give the Wildcats a 25-20 victory in the opener.
Northwestern collected 24 digs in the first set, led by Tashima and Morin who posted six apiece. Libero Caroline Niedospial was not far behind with five digs, while McGreal added three.
Minnesota led 6-5 in the second stanza before the Wildcats unleashed a 6-1 run that gave them an 11-7 lead. The final three points of that surge came courtesy of Northwestern's blockers. Slater and Morin teamed up for the first before Katie Dutchman and Savannah Paffen came together for the second. Then Morin stuffed Minnesota's Hannah Tapp all by herself to gain the four-point advantage for the visiting team.
Northwestern continued to play sound on the defensive end, using some acrobatics to set up Morin for her ninth kill of the night, giving it an 18-14. Minnesota used its second timeout and came back with a 5-0 run that gave it a one-point lead. Paffen ended the run with her first kill of the night to pull into another tie.
The Gophers sustained their momentum and outscored the Wildcats down the stretch, 5-1, to win the second set, 25-20, and even the match at a set apiece as the sides split for the intermission.
After two sets in the Sports Pavilion, Morin led NU with nine kills and 11 digs. Both of her parents were varsity athletes for Minnesota. Her father, Dave, played tennis, while her mother, Gretchen, starred on the volleyball court for the Gophers.
The two sides were tied at 11 in set three after a kill from Dutchman, but Minnesota responded with a 5-2 run that put it on top for good in that stanza. Northwestern would find itself behind only two points at 17-15, but would come no closer. The Golden Gophers won set three, 25-18.
Once again the Wildcats and Gophers traded early runs, but the 'Cats never led after Morin scored the first point of the frame on her 12th kill. Minnesota's Daly Santana finished off the Wildcats with her match-high 21st kill that helped the Gophers close the set, 25-15.
Morin led the Wildcats with 17 kills, while Tashima's 15 digs led the Purple and Black. Tashima ranks third in the Big Ten with 12 double-doubles in 2014. Morin added 11 digs of her own to record her third consecutive double-double and her eighth overall this season. She's tied for eighth in the conference.
Northwestern will conclude its three match road trip on Saturday evening in West Lafayatte, Ind. against the 16th-ranked Purdue Boilermakers. The Wildcats built a 2-0 lead in the first meeting of the season on Oct. 24, but the then-13th-ranked Boilermakers stormed back to win in five sets.
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