Northwestern Takes Down #24 Purdue in Four Sets

10/21/2016 10:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Coach Davis Postgame

Box Score | Season Stats

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern used a dominant defense and a balanced offense to defeat No. 24 Purdue in four sets Friday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena for its first conference win of the season.

"It feels awesome," head coach Shane Davis said. "It's a big weight off our shoulders. It was great to see the training block we had this week transition into tonight's match. I am really proud of the group tonight."

Junior Symone Abbott led the way for the Wildcats with 18 kills. She was followed by seniors Sofia Lavin with nine and Maddie Slater with seven. Junior setter Taylor Tashima spread the ball around to seven different attackers, racking up 41 assists on the night. It was her fourth 40-assist game this season.

"It's great to get a win on our home court after all the hard work we have been putting in at practice," Tashima said. "The Big Ten is a grind every night, and I am proud of our team for executing when it counted. The win feels great, but we are already looking toward tomorrow's practiceand getting ready for Indiana."

The Wildcats were spurred by their service game with eight aces, one short of the team's season high. Tashima served a career high five of them, with three coming consecutively in the first set.

Slater hit .314 to continue her climb to the top of the all-time charts at Northwestern.

Gabrielle Hazen added six kills, while Kayla Morin notched four.

Chicago's Big Ten Team was a force at the net, registering 10 blocks en route to holding Purdue to just .167 hitting. Hazen had a team-high four, including three solo. Slater had three, bringing her to 296 for her career.

Northwestern improved to 8-2 when it wins the first set and 7-3 when it wins the hitting percentage battle.

The 'Cats started the match off on fire due in large part to a seven-point run to break the first set open at 20-13. They served six aces en route to winning the first frame 25-19.

Purdue battled back to win the second set 25-18 and tie the match at one set apiece.

Northwestern came out of the break hitting on all cylinders in the third set and ran out to a 14-8 lead on the way to a 25-19 set win and a 2-1 lead. NU then won a wild fourth set to seal the match. After going down 4-0, they rallied to tie the set at 9-9 and continued to take a 24-20 lead. Purdue fought off four match points and earned a set point of their own, before the Wildcats clamped down and finished the set 28-26 to earn the win.

A quick turnaround awaits Northwestern as Indiana comes to town on Sunday for a 3 p.m. match that will be televised live on Big Ten Network.