Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Faces Maryland Saturday in Regular Season Finale
11/28/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
| Northwestern (16-14, 6-13 B1G) at Maryland (9-21, 2-17 B1G) |
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| Date | Time | November 26 | 7:00 p.m. |
| Location | Xfinity Center | College Park, Md. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | BTN Plus on BTN2GO |
| Social Media | @NUVball  | Northwestern Volleyball  | @nu_volleyball  |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern will wrap up the 2014 regular season on Saturday, Nov. 29 when it travels to College Park, Md. to take on one of two Big Ten newcomers, Maryland, at the Xfinity Center at 7 p.m.
The Wildcats and Terrapins have squared off once already this season, during the opening weekend of Big Ten play. Northwestern outlasted Maryland, 3-2, at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sept. 27. NU's Kayla Morin had 18 kills in the victory, while freshman Symone Abbott chipped in with 17. Caroline Niedospial registered 24 digs and Taylor Tashima had 46 assists and 12 digs for a double-double.
Thank you, Seniors
Five Wildcats will celebrated Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena Wednesday. Yewande Akanbi, Maggie Burnham, Katie Dutchman, Monica McGreal and Savannah Paffen have combined to play in 432 matches at Northwestern with 1,505 sets between them entering the weekemd. The group has been part of at least 16 wins each of the past four seasons, with the opportunity to add on Saturday night. Though she took a redshirt, Dutchman was also a member of the 2010 Wildcats squad that won 20 matches and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Top-Ten Takedown
In defeating No. 9 Illinois on Nov. 5, the Wildcats slayed their first top-10 opponent since upsetting the second-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers in four sets on Nov. 26, 2011. The night before playing in Evanston, the Huskers had claimed their first-ever Big Ten Championship. The Ilini were the second nationally-ranked team to fall to the `Cats this season. Northwestern beat No. 18 Minnesota in straight sets in Evanston on Oct. 5.
Career-High Clips
Several Wildcats turned in career-best performances during the `Cats' homestand against Purdue and Indiana. Libero Caroline Niedospial notched a career-high 34 digs against No. 13 Purdue, tying her for fourth place on NU's all-time, single-match, record list. Outside hitter Kayla Morin notched 22 kills on 59 swings against the Boilermakers, both career highs. In the same match, setter Taylor Tashima finished with 20 digs, nine kills (career highs) and 28 assists. The following night against Indiana the freshman eclipsed her short-lived high in kills by five for a new best mark of 14.
Nearly-Perfect Paffen
Senior Savannah Paffen put away a season-high 12 kills against Iowa last time out. Paffen was blanced with 4.0 kills per set and nearly perfect with just two errors in 14 total attempts. The Mountain View, Calif, native hit at a career-high clip of .714, a number that's tied for the fourth-best mark in Big Ten this season (min. 12 kills).
Wildcats Ink Three Newcomers
Northwestern head volleyball coach Keylor Chan and associate head coach and recruiting coordinator Kirstine Jensen announced the signing of three future Wildcats to National Letters of Intent last week. Ashley Bush (Union, Ky./Ryle), Rachael Fara (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) and Cassidy Nussman (Pearland, Texas/Pearland) will all join the `Cats for the 2015 season. Earlier this month Fara helped Benet Academy win its second Illinois High School Association State Championship in three years.
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