Wildcats Open Season with Sweep of George Washington

8/26/2016 5:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score | Season Stats

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Northwestern opened up the 2016 season with a three-set sweep of George Washington at the Virginia Tournament on Friday afternoon with a fast-paced and efficient offensive attack.

Junior outside hitter Symone Abbott led the way with a match-high 22 kills, Gabrielle Hazen added 10 and Kayla Morin put down seven, as the Wildcats racked up a .494 hitting percentage as a team. Abbott, Hazen and Morin all hit better than .500 on the day.

"We have a great balance and good group that allows us to be a little more strategic on offense with what we are doing," head coach Shane Davis said. "We have had such a big focus on the serve-and-pass game, and we were able to do those two things really well today."

The win was the first for Davis in the first match of his Northwestern career.

The Wildcats' style of play gave All-Big Ten setter Taylor Tashima numerous options on offense, and she handed out 40 assists in just three sets.

"It feels awesome to be back on the court," Tashima said. "Especially with us having a lot of returners, allowing us to keep the same rhythm."

Sofia Lavin was another bright spot for Chicago's Big Ten Team on Friday. The senior served a career-high five aces in the first set alone, which helped Northwestern to a 14-2 run to close out the set and get the early advantage.

Katie Kniep had 13 digs, two assists and two aces in her first match as the full-time starter at libero. Abbott also gave an all-around performance, tallying five digs, two aces and an assist to go with her 22 kills.

All three sets were close at the halfway point, but the Wildcats pulled away down the stretch in each of them to secure the sweep.

"Our composure is what really impressed me the most," Davis said. "There were some nerves in our pre-match meeting, but at the end of the day, it has to be about them having fun together as a group, and I was really happy with the way we settled in and played composed."

Northwestern continues at the Virginia Tournament with a double-header tomorrow, first meeting Buffalo at 10 a.m. CT before playing host Virginia at 6 p.m. CT.