Northwestern
7-1
Loyola-Chicago
4-4
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Wildcats Top Crosstown Rival Loyola, 3-1
9/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern shook off a sluggish start to win its second straight match at the 33rd Wildcat Classic, and its seventh overall, with a convincing four-set victory over the visiting Loyola Ramblers (26-28, 25-15, 25-19, 25-13).
"We didn't get out to an ideal start against Loyola," said Northwestern head coach Keylor Chan after the win. "We did face that bit of adversity and showed a great response moving forward though. It's always great when you can get two wins in one day, especially on your home floor."
Loyola had the upper hand throughout much of the first set. The Ramblers led by as many as four points (16-12) before NU charged back behind 4-1 run that pulled the home team to within a point. The purple and white pressed even harder and eventually gained a 23-22 advantage after an LU attacking error. The late lead in the first set wasn't enough to break the Ramblers in a close game, however. Sami Hansen and Caroline Holt blocked NU's Symone Abbott to put their team up one before Katie Dutchman's effort landed out of bounds to give the visitors a 28-26 victory.
The `Cats claimed an early lead in the second set and never looked back. Senior outside hitter Monica McGreal served up back-to-back aces to start off a massive 13-2 scoring run. The Wildcats were starting to click on all cylinders in in the second stanza. After hitting only .071 as a team in the first set, Northwestern stormed back to hit .476 in the second game. Abbott led the way with five kills on seven attempts in the second set, while Monica McGreal posted three kills and three serving aces behind her powerful jump serve.
After the Wildcats went up 13-4 in the second set, Loyola came no closer than seven points the rest of the way before Taylor Tashima slammed home one of her career-high five kills to close out the Ramblers, 25-15.
Northwestern continued to control the tempo after the intermission. The home team built up an 11-7 lead after a kill from Katie Dutchman, which prompted LU to use a timeout. The stoppage did little to slow NU's attack as it went on another 5-1 run out of the break to double up Loyola, 16-8. Loyola got to within five points a couple of junctures down the stretch, but the Wildcats coasted to a six-point triumph, 25-19.
The 'Cats were completely dominant for the third-straight set as they muscled their way to a 25-13 in the fourth to seal the nonconference win. NU raced out to a quick 9-3 lead following another kill from Tashima and it didn't let up. With the Wildcats nursing a six-point lead down the stretch, 18-12, McGreal posted four kills, while Kayla Morin added one to help finish the night in style.
McGreal led Northwestern with 14 kills and the senior also buried a career-high five aces for her team. Abbott finished with 12 kills, while Dutchman added 10 at a clip of .444.
"We had a truly balanced attack tonight. Taylor [Tashima] is growing every match and she's putting the team in positions to succeed. Monica [McGreal] played well all day long, and so did [Katie] Dutchman; those are two seniors who have played a lot of volleyball and they're doing a good job of showing us what it takes to be successful."
Tashima handed out a match-high 37 assists to go with her career-high five kills and 12 digs. It was her third double-double in eight collegiate matches.
Caroline Niedospial recorded a season-high 25 digs against Ramblers Friday night., while Dutchman and Maddie Slater led NU with four blocks apiece.
Northwestern closes out the Wildcat Classic Saturday evening with a match against Virginia at 7 p.m. It will be the third-ever meeting between the two teams. The final session of the Wildcat Classic will begin with a match between Loyola and Youngstown State at 4:30 p.m. at Welsh Ryan Arena.
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