Robinson's 24 Kills Catapult Wildcats Over Rutgers

10/25/2017 8:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

By Zach Wingrove
NUsports.com Correspondent

EVANSTON, Ill. — The Northwestern Wildcats (13-10, 3-8 Big Ten) picked up their third conference victory of the season in a three-set sweep over Rutgers (5-18, 0-11 Big Ten) on Wednesday at the historic Beardsley Gym in Evanston Township High School.

On her Senior Spotlight night, senior Taylor Tashima recorded her eighth double-double of the season, finishing with 43 assists and 10 digs. Tashima's 43 assists were the most by a Wildcat player in a three-set match since she recorded 49 against Minnesota as a first-year in 2014.

First-year outside hitter Nia Robinson led the attack for Northwestern as she finished with 24 kills on the night while hitting for an outstanding .526 clip on the night — the highest mark of her career (minimum 15 attempts).

It was also a career night for sophomores Olivia Viscuso and Allie Lindroth. Both finished the night with a career-high eight kills, with Viscuso hitting for a .357 clip while Lindroth hit .412 and added eight digs in the match.

It was all Northwestern in the first set of the match as the 'Cats cruised to a 25-16 victory. The Wildcats jumped out to an early lead, winning the first five points of the set and never looked back from there. Robinson helped fuel the offensive attack as she recorded four kills in the first seven points of the set. She finished the set with eight kills while hitting for a .727 clip.

While Robinson dominated early in the set, Viscuso took over late. She recorded three straight kills during the Wildcats' 5-0 run to open up the lead to 18-9 later in the set. Viscuso finished the first set with five kills, hitting for a .571 clip. As a team, #B1GCats hit .424 in the set, finishing the set with 18 total kills.

Rutgers battled back early in the second set to get within one point of Northwestern's 14-13 lead. But the #B1GCats finished the set strong, going on 11-3 run to finish the set 25-16 yet again. The Wildcats finished the set with 17 kills as a team, hitting for a .414 clip. Robinson led the team with eight kills in the set, while senior Gabrielle Hazen and and Lindroth each added three as well.

The 'Cats didn't let up in the third set as they rolled to a 25-14 victory to close out the match. Robinson led the way once again with eight kills in the set on 13 attempts, while the Wildcats hit for a .483 clip as a team along with 16 kills in the set.

With the win, Northwestern moves to a perfect 5-0 against Rutgers since the Scarlet Knights joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Chicago's Big Ten team will return to action on Friday, October 28 when it travels to Madison to face No. 9 Wisconsin. The Wildcats will return home to Beardsley Gym on November 4 when they host Michigan State and Symone Abbott will be featured in the next Senior Spotlight game.