NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH INFORMATION
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME	LOCATION	BROADCAST	LIVE STATS
Friday, Sept. 2	Chattanooga	2:30 p.m.	Frericks Center (Dayton, Ohio)	N/A	Stat Broadcast
Saturday, Sept. 3	(rv) Dayton	12 p.m.	Frericks Center (Dayton, Ohio)	Atlantic10.com	Stat Broadcast
Saturday, Sept. 3	Xavier	3 p.m.	Frericks Center (Dayton, Ohio)	N/A	Stat Broadcast
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DAYTON, Ohio - Northwestern takes its Big Ten-leading offense to the Dayton Invitational this weekend looking to remain unbeaten in the early going of the 2016 season. The Wildcats will face Chattanooga, Dayton and Xavier over the course of two days at the Frericks Center on the campus of the University of Dayton.

Chicago's Big Ten Team (3-0) opens the tournament with a 2:30 p.m. CT match against Chattanooga (4-0) on Friday. The 'Cats then square off against Dayton (4-0), who is receiving votes in this week's AVCA Coaches Poll at noon on Saturday before finishing things off with Xavier (2-1) at 3 p.m.

Live stats are available for all three matches, and a live stream through the Atlantic-10 conference will be made available for the Northwestern-Dayton match.

HAMMER IT HOME
Northwestern's dominant opening weekend left it near the top of the national charts in hitting. The Wildcats rank first in the Big Ten and second in the country with a .380 team hitting percentage. For comparison's sake, Nebraska (the consensus No. 1 team in the nation) is second in the conference by hitting .349 after three matches. Chicago's Big Ten Team ranks 10th nationally with 15.2 kills per set.

SYMONE SLAM
Junior outside hitter Symone Abbott has begun the season on a tear. She is averaging 5.5 kills per set through the first three matches, which ranks first in the Big Ten and fifth nationally. She had 22 kills in a three-set match vs. George Washington to open the season, which is the second-most in the NCAA this year and in program history for a three-setter. Abbott's .460 hitting percentage ranks fifth in the conference, and her .700 mark against Buffalo (14-for-20) is the second-best performance in the country for a three-set match.

She racked up 387 kills last season on an impressive rate of 3.62 kills per set and her career rate of 3.48 kills per set ranks fourth all time in program history. Abbott is on pace to eclipse the 1,000-kill mark for her career this season and would be the 22nd Wildcat in program history to do so. With a strong 2016, Abbott could post a top-ten single-season kills per set rate with the benchmark at 3.83.

MILESTONE TRACKER
Taylor Tashima's 33rd and final assist in the second match of the year against Buffalo moved her into 10th place all-time at Northwestern in career assists with 2,109. She finished the weekend with 2,158 and is just 36 shy of ninth place. At her current pace she could end up as high as fourth by the end of the season.

Kayla Morin enters her senior season as another all-around force for the Wildcats. She is the active leader on the team with 870 kills, 810 digs, and 163 blocks. If she continues her pace, she could crack the thousand mark for kills and digs this season. That would make her only the ninth player in program history to eclipse both 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs.

TRIED AND TESTED
Chicago's Big Ten Team will face one of the most difficult schedules in the country in 2016. A year after playing the nation's hardest schedule, the Wildcats' slate again ranks up there among the hardest, coming in fifth nationally after the opening weekend. Northwestern's opponents have combined for a 57-16 (.781) record.

The Wildcats face 17 teams who appeared in the 2015 NCAA tournament. They also have 13 matches against teams who were ranked and receiving votes at the end of last season. Northwestern will play six conference matches against the four teams predicted to finish at the top of the conference -- Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Penn State.

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Wildcats Take High-Octane Offense to Dayton

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Next Event

Players Mentioned

Symone Abbott

Kayla Morin

Taylor Tashima

Northwestern University Athletics

Wildcats Take High-Octane Offense to Dayton

••••••

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Symone Abbott

Kayla Morin

Taylor Tashima

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