Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
15-12, 5-11Big Ten
Purdue
21-7, 11-5Big Ten
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern | 21 | 17 | 17 | 0 |
| Purdue | 25 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
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Northwestwern Bested by No. 16 Purdue in Straight Sets
11/15/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern was unable to generate much offensive rhythm and its defense struggled to slow down a potent Purdue attack as the 16th-ranked Boilermakers topped the Wildcats Saturday night, 3-0 (25-21, 25-17, 25-17).
The 'Cats fell into a five-point hole early on as they trailed 10-5, but they eventually worked their way right back in it and found themselves down by just three, at 18-15, after Savannah Paffen and Maddie Slater combined for a block at the net. NU kept hanging around and soon found itself down by just a point at 22-21 after four consecutive attacking errors by the Boilermakers, three of which were unforced. The other was caused by another big block, this time by Katie Dutchman and Taylor Tashima. After a timeout Purdue rattled off three consecutive points to win the frame, 25-21.
Chicago's Big Ten Team got four kills from freshman Symone Abbott in the first set, but the squad was hampered by six attacking errors. Purdue was plagued with eight hitting errors of its own, but the home team was able to register 17 kills and add a service ace to help overcome the miscues.
The Wildcats trailed by six points early on in the second stanza, but once again they mounted a furious comeback. Down 11-5 after a kill by Purdue's Faye Adelaja, Northwestern reeled off six of the set's next nine points to climb to within three at 14-11. The 'Cats soon got to within a pair of points (18-16) following an ace of the hands of sophomore Kayla Morin, but they could come no closer. The Boilermakers six unanswered points to go ahead 24-16, and though NU fought off one set point with a kill from Abbott, the deficit was too large to overcome and the Black and Gold won the frame, 25-17.
The third set opened in a similar fashion to the first two with Purdue racing out to an 11-4 start. Northwestern's Monica McGreal served back-to-back aces to get her team to within five, but the Purple and White could never get to within four points or fewer for the duration of the match as Purdue worked its way toward another 25-17 triumph.
Morin paced the Wildcats with 10 kills Saturday night, while adding six digs. Tashima handed out a team-high 24 assists and Caroline Niedospial posted 12 digs on the night for NU. Dutchman led the charge at the net with three blocks.
Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 19 to open its final homestand of the season in Evanston. The 'Cats host the Michigan State Spartans Wednesday with the first serve slated for 7 p.m.
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