Northwestern
4-0
Cal State Fullerton
2-2
Team Stats
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
Wildcats Bounce Titans, 3-1
9/5/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
SAN DIEGO -- Northwestern saw four players post double-digit kills to help fight off Cal State Fullerton's comeback in the third set and top the Titans in the first match of the USD-SDSU 2014 Challenge, 3-1 (25-12, 25-19, 16-25, 25-18).
Northwestern got off to a great start by scoring 14 of the match's first 17 points. Cal State Fullerton was within five points at 8-3 before the Wildcats ripped off six unanswered points capped by a kill from freshman Taylor Tashima to give NU a 14-3 edge. Tashima added two total kills during the run, plus a block with an assist from Maddie Slater. Senior outside hitter Yewande Akanbi also had a pair of terminations during the run. The Titans would come no closer than within 10 points for the remainder of the first set before the 'Cats finished it off, 25-12.
The 'Cats kept rolling into the second stanza. Northwestern led 18-17 late in the set when back-to-back kills from Akanbi gave her team a three-point lead and prompted CSF to call a timeout. The stoppage did little to slow down NU's attack as Akanbi and sophomore Kayla Morin tallied big scores down the stretch to help NU finish off the Titans, 25-19, and take a 2-0 lead into the brief intermission.
The Titans finally ended Northwestern's streak 11 consecutive sets won by winning the third, 25-16. Morin gave the purple and white an early 5-4 lead with a kill, but the teams went back and forth until the ledger was even at 12 points each. From there, the Titans used a 11-2 run to go up 23-14 and they never looked back. Akanbi and Slater teamed up for a block to bring NU with seven, but CSF was able to hold off the late charge to win the third set and cut its deficit in half.
Cal State Fullerton and Northwestern traded blows through the early part of the fourth set and score was even at seven-all when Slater and Akanbi joined forces for another block assist. That block ignited a six-point rally that culminated with a kill from Akanbi off an assist from Tashima that gave the Wildcats a 12-7 lead, one that they would not relinquish. Northwestern won the fourth set by a final score of 25-18.
Akanbi led the 'Cats attack with 17 kills, while Morin, Symone Abbott and Katie Dutchman all chipped in with 10 apiece. Tashima handed out a match-high 40 assists, while Caroline Niedospial led NU with 11 digs. Slater had a season-high six blocks, while Dutchman added five. Dutchman, who is playing near her hometown of Del Mar, Calif., this weekend, also racked up a career-high six digs.
The Wildcats will conclude the USD-SDSU 2014 Challenge on Saturday, Sept. 6 with a pair of matches. Northwestern will face Brown for the second time in three years to kick things off at 2 p.m. CT before taking on 15th-ranked San Diego in the nightcap at 9:30 p.m.
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