Seniors Shine In Battle Against No. 12 Wisconsin

11/19/2017 2:59:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern Volleyball honored its three senior players on Sunday at historic Beardsley Gymnasium in Evanston Township High School.

On Senior Day, Taylor Tashima, Symone Abbott, and Gabrielle Hazen all added to their already-impressive career numbers by each turning solid performances against No. 12 Wisconsin.

Tashima finished the match with 23 assists, bringing her career total to 4,152 which is the fourth most in program history. Earlier this season, Tashima became just the 47th player in Big Ten history to eclipse the 4,000 career assist mark. The senior setter also finished the match tied for a team-high eight digs, falling just short of her ninth double-double of the season.

Abbott finished the match with a team-high nine kills for a .368 clip, bringing her career total to 1,594. Abbott is currently in fourth place in Northwestern history with career kills and needs just 24 kills to pass Erika Lange for third place. Heading into today, Abbott led all Big Ten players with an average of 4.14 kills per set this season, which will be the sixth highest single-season mark in program history if she can maintain it over the Wildcats' final two matches.

Hazen registered six kills on 11 attempts for a team-high .455 hitting percentage in the match. Today's performance adds to Hazen's already historically efficient season. She now has a hitting percentage of .335 on the season, which will be the sixth highest in a single-season if she can maintain that clip over the Wildcats' final two matches.

No. 12 Wisconsin (19-8, 10-8 in Big Ten) went on to win with the match in straight-sets.

After falling behind early, the 'Cats came thundering back on a 10-2 run to take a 19-18 lead in the first set. However, a late run by Wisconsin helped the Badgers win the set, 25-20, to take a 1-0 advantage in the match. Abbott led the attack for Northwestern, finishing the set with five kills for a .714 percentage, while Tashima led all players with nine assists.

Both teams went back and forth in the second set, with the lead changing four times. Four Wildcats registered multiple kills and first-year Lexi Pitsas totaled two service aces during the set, however the Badgers took the set 25-18 to go up 2-0 in the match.

Wisconsin closed out the match with a 25-17 victory in the third set. Five Wildcats finished with multiple kills, however Northwestern was stifled by Wisconsin's .424 hitting percentage in the set.

Chicago's Big Ten Team will be back in action on Wednesday, Nov. 22 when they host No. 5 Nebraska for its final home match of the season at 7 p.m.