Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Minnesota
#B1GCats To Host #7 Minnesota, #12 Wisconsin
11/15/2017 8:31:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
| NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS | |
| Friday, Nov. 17 |
#7 Minnesota | 7 p.m. CT | Historic Beardsley Gym Evanston, Ill. |
BTN Plus | Sidearm | |
| Sunday, Nov. 19 |
#12 Wisconsin | 1 p.m. CT | Historic Beardsley Gym Evanston, Ill. |
BTN Plus | Sidearm | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUVBall) | Facebook Northwestern Match Notes |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern volleyball will host its last pair of weekend matches on Friday and Sunday, welcoming #7 Minnesota and #12 Wisconsin to historic Beardsley Gym.
Friday's match will be our final #SeniorSpotlight, honoring Gabrielle Hazen, and will also be a white-out for fans. Sunday's match will be our Senior Day, honoring all three members of the Class of 2018.
PRIOR RETURNS
Northwestern has logged a 14-14 record through 26 competitions in its 2017 campaign ... NU has surpassed their win output from last season, both overall and in the Big Ten ... The 'Cats posted a nine-match winning streak from Aug. 26 to Sept. 16.
STUNNER IN ANN ARBOR
The Wildcats utilized a come-from-behind thrust to top Michigan in Ann Arbor last weekend (11/10). Down one set, the 'Cats battled back to win sets two and three, but then were saddled with an all-important fifth set.
Northwestern quickly went down 6-1, with Head Coach Shane Davis already using both of his timeouts. The Wildcats surged back, topping the Wolverines, 15-13, and fishing the wild match. Four Wildcats posted double-digit kills in the competition for the first time all season.
THREE SET MAGIC
The Wildcats hit .440 as a team in their three-set sweep of Rutgers (10/25), led by first-year Nia Robinson's 24 kills ... That was tied for the most kills in a three-set match in program history, also Stephanie Holthus (Miami (OH), 9/20/2013) ... The mark was also the most by any Big Ten player in a three-set contest this year ... Next closest was a pair of 19-kill performances by Annika Albrecht and Claire Sheehan.
SCOUTING MINNESOTA
Samantha Seliger-Swenson, the owner of the second-best assists per set rate in the nation, is the focal point of the Golden Gophers' offense. She has helped lead the squad to a .292 hitting percentage (12th best in NCAA) and a 14.57 kils per set clip (tops in the Big Ten).
SCOUTING WISCONSIN
The Badgers feature two players (Dana Rettke, .437 and Tionna Williams, .432) who own top-10 hitting eprcentages in the nation. That has helped lead the squad to a .299 hitting percentage, which is third-best in the conference.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The 'Cats have been very efficient on firing away with their attacks, as their .250 team hitting percentage is top-45 in the nation ... If you needed any reminder of how dominant the Big Ten is for volleyball, that mark is also ninth-best in the conference.
CHART TOPPERS
Symone Abbott leads the Big Ten and is 30th in the nation with an average of 4.14 kills per set while Nia Robinson is ranked eighth with an average of 3.52 kills per set. Abbott is fourth in the Big Ten with 360 kills on the year, while Robinson is second among all conference first years with 334 total kills. Abbott's 4.14 kills per set would be tied for the sixth-highest in program history if the season ended today.
SHE'S HAZEN A GREAT SEASON
Gabrielle Hazen has .323 hitting percentage in 399 attempts ... If she can maintain that clip, she will finish the program's eighth-highest percentage in a single season (min. 400 attempts). Hazen also is seventh in the Big Ten with an average of 1.11 blocks per set.
DYNAMIC DUO
In the Wildcats' match against Maryland on Oct. 13, Nia Robinson and Symone Abbott became the first NU duo to notch 20-plus kills since Stephanie Holthus and Katie Dutchman in 2013.
Abbott's career-high 29 kills vs. Maryland are tied for the fifth most in NU history in an individual match and are also tied for the most an NU player has recorded this season (last since Abbott vs. Indiana on Oct. 6). Robinson's 25 kills are the third most an NU player has recorded this season.
AT THE PACE SHE'S ON...
Senior Taylor Tashima is ranked 32nd in the country and fifth in the Big Ten with 10.89 assists per set ... That rate is tied for the best of Tashima's career ... In addition, Tashima's 1,035 total assists are in the top-80 in the nation and is the seventh in the Big Ten.
AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-4th, kills per set-2nd) and Taylor Tashima (assists-4th, assists per set-4th) both are poised to etch their names into Northwestern history with productive senior seasons.
Gabrielle Hazen is now in seventh place in career hitting-percentage, having just crossed the 1,000 TAs mark for qualification. Abbott needs 43 kills to move into sole possession of third place (Erika Lange, 1,618), while Tashima has moved into fourth place in NU history in assists.
THE ROAD TO 4,000
On Saturday's matchup against Michigan State, Taylor Tashima recorded her 4,000th career assist ... This makes her one of only 47 players in Big Ten history and the fourth player in NU history to do so.
AT YOUR SERVICE (ACE)
The Wildcats have been strong at their service game this season, as their 1.54 aces per set mark is the second best in the conference and is the 36th-best in the nation ... Two NU players (Taylor Tashima and Sarah Johnson) are currently ranked in the top-12 of the conference for aces per set.
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