Tashima Reaches 4,000 Assists on Lymphoma Awareness Night

11/4/2017 9:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern volleyball returned home on Saturday night for Lymphoma Awareness Night, in support of redshirt sophomore Kaitlin Tavarez, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma in August, and played host to No. 9 Michigan State.

The Northwestern Volleyball program joined forces with the HEADstrong Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization committed to providing essential services to improve lives affected by cancer. The Wildcat community is invited to visit the HEADstrong fundraising page.

Senior Taylor Tashima continued to stamp her name in the Big Ten history book as she recorded 22 assists on the night to reach 4,000 assists on her career, becoming one of only 46 players in the conference's history and the fourth player in program history to do so.

On her Senior Spotlight night, Symone Abbott finished with a team-high 11 kills at a .474 clip while adding five digs as well. The .474 hitting percentage was her second highest output of the season, trailing only her great match against Rutgers

Michigan State (17-6, 10-4 Big Ten) won the match in straight-sets at historic Beardsley Gym in Evanston Township High School.

After dropping the first set, the #B1GCats came out strong to start the second set. Sophomore Allie Lindroth recorded two kills early on, while first-year Alana Walker recorded back-to-back kills to give Northwestern an 8-7 advantage. Walker finished the set hitting for a .500 percentage along with four kills. A late 5-1 run helped cut the Wildcats' deficit to five, but Michigan State closed out the set 25-19 to take a 2-0 advantage in the match.

The Wildcats fell behind early in the third set but were given a jolt of momentum thanks to five consecutive kills by Abbott to cut the 'Cats' deficit to 12-8. Abbott finished the set with six kills on seven attempts, while first-year Nia Robinson added five kills of her own. Despite the 'Cats efforts, however, the Spartans took the set 25-18 to finish off the match.

Northwestern continue to see strong performances turned in by its first-year players as Robinson finished with eight kills on the night while Walker added six kills while hitting for a .357 clip.

Chicago's Big Ten team will be back in action next Friday as they travel to Michigan for a two game road trip. The Wildcats will head to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines on Friday before traveling to East Lansing for a rematch against the Spartans on Saturday.