Northwestern
9-1
Ohio
6-4
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Northwestern Claws Past Ohio in Five Thrilling Sets
9/18/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern improved to 2-0 in five-set matches in 2014 and 9-1 overall with a 3-2 (26-24, 22-25, 25-21, 20-25, 17-15) triumph over the visiting Ohio Bobcats to open the 2014 Wildcat Challenge at Welsh-Ryan-Arena Thursday night.
"Ohio is an incredibly talented team and they put up a tremendous fight tonight," said Northwestern head Keylor Chan. "They showed tonight why they are regularly at the top of the [MAC]. Those were two teams that were battling hard for every single point from the first serve on and we were fortunate enough to make critical plays down the stretch. A lot of different people stepped up and made big things happen for us. It was another great team win."
Northwestern squeezed past Ohio for a two-point victory, 26-24, to start the evening. The two sides went back and forth for nearly the full duration of the set until the Wildcat block came up with two huge stops at the end. With Abbie Kraus in to serve for the 'Cats at 24-24, sophomore Kayla Morin registered one of her career-high eight blocks, a solo effort that gave her team a one-point edge. Ohio's Hannah Burkle tried to pull her team back within a point on the next sequence, but freshman Symone Abbott and sophomore Maddie Slater had other ideas as they teamed up to reject her attempt, giving Northwestern the two-point cushion needed.
The 'Cats got out to a rocky start in the second set as they fell behind by as many as eight points on three separate occasions. Trailing 19-12, the purple and white mounted a memorable 10-3 run that got them to within a single point at 22-21. Abbott had three crucial kills during the run, while Slater added two of her career-high eight. NU also had three blocks during the sequence.
Unfortunately the home team was unable to completely take the lead back as OU finished off a 25-22 victory when an Abbott attempt sailed long.
In the third set it was Northwestern that soared to an early lead. The Wildcats went up 13-6 on one of 21 kills by Yewande Akanbi, prompting Ohio to call a timeout. The lead was seven again for NU before a quick four-point burst pulled the Bobcats to within three scores. Ohio chipped away but never led Northwestern in the third set. Abbott capped a 25-21 win with her 12th termination of the match, one that gave her team a 2-1 lead for the match.
Ohio was able to even the overall score at two sets apiece with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth. Northwestern held a three-point lead at 17-14 following a kill from Akanbi, but a block from Slater and Morin that held the lead at two, 20-18, would prove to be the final point NU could score in this frame. Ohio closed on a 7-0 run out of a timeout with Abby Gilleland serving an ace to seal the set.
The fifth set was just as intense as the previous two-plus hours. Neither team led by more than two points at any time during the decisive stanza, but when the final ball came down, it was Northwestern that was able to raise its arms in victory. Ohio had the first crack at match-point with a 15-14 lead following a kill by local product Kelly Lamberti. After a timeout, Wildcats setter Caleigh Ryan found Akanbi on back-to-back plays and the senior converted for her 20th and 21st kills of the match. With her team down by one, 16-15, Ohio's Jaime Kosiorek's effort landed out of bounds to clinch the win for the purple and white.
Numerous Wildcats turned in top efforts to help secure the team's fourth-straight win. Akanbi's 21 kills were a career high, as were Abbott's 17. Akanbi hit .442, committing only two errors on her 43 swings. Morin chipped in with a season-high 16 digs to go with her personal-best eight blocks against OU, while Caroline Niedospial recorded 25-or-more digs for the third match in a row. Slater hammered down a career-high eight kills at her best-ever clip of .538. The Texan also added six blocks. Ryan has 61 assists, seven digs and four blocks in her second consecutive start.
Northwestern will be idle for two days before the final nonconference match takes place right back at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Sept. 21 when the Green Bay Phoenix come to town. The first serve is slated for 1 p.m. The Bobcats and Phoenix will also play a Wildcat Challenge match against one another on Friday, Sept. 19 at 4:30 p.m. inside NU's gym.
••••••
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!
