Wildcats Begin 2017 Season With Three-Game Set in Tampa

8/25/2017 5:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball

MATCH NOTES

TAMPA, Fla. — Northwestern volleyball gets the 2017 season — the second campaign under Head Coach Shane Davis — underway on Friday, September 25, at The Corral at the University of South Florida.

The #B1GCats play South Florida at 6 p.m. CT on Friday to kick off the season. Northwestern will play two more games on Saturday — LSU at 1 p.m. CT and Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 4 p.m. CT — to round up the USF Invitational.

HOW TO FOLLOW
Northwestern's match against South Florida will be live-streamed via Facebook Live. The Wildcats' competition against LSU and Arkansas-Pine Bluff will not be streamed, but live updates will be available via the @NUVball Twitter account.

NEW FRIENDS, OLD FRIENDS
Friday's contest against South Florida marks Northwestern's second meeting with the Bulls (also, a five-set loss in September 2013) ... Saturday will be the fifth meeting between the Wildcats and LSU, with Northwestern owning a 4-1 advantage in the historical matchup ... This weekend will be the first time the 'Cats will match up with Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

ABOUT SOUTH FLORIDA
The Bulls are fresh off their best season since 2007, a 19-win campaign ... USF returns seven members of their 2016 squad, highlighted by senior setter Alex Mendoza (third in AAC in assists per set) ... The Bulls will feature 10 newcomers (five transfers and five first-years) ... USF is led by sixth-year head coach Courtney Draper.

ABOUT LSU
Led by 20-year head coach Fran Flory, LSU went 9-20 (4-14 SEC) in 2016 ... The Tigers return four of the top five kill producers from 2016, led by Gina Tillis (333) .. LSU will present three newcomers, including 6-foot-5 middle blocker/outside hitter Taylor Bannister.

ABOUT ARKANSAS-PINE BLUFF
UAPB, helmed by Dustin Sahlmann, will expect to keep much of its net production from Kendalle Howard, who posted 198 kills and 28 blocks as a freshman for the Lady Lions ... Five members of their roster are from Canada ... Pine Bluff is nearby to Little Rock in Arkansas and UAPB is the second-oldest public institution in the state.

NOTICEABLE NEWCOMERS
The Wildcats' seven-member first-year class — comprised of Nia Robinson, Lexi Pitsas, Britt Bommer, Ivey Whalen, Danyelle Williams, Alana Walker, and Amy Wang — were ranked the 22nd-best in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com in May ... "Northwestern's Class of 2021 rivals any nationwide in athleticism and competiveness and can be a difference-maker for the program," PrepVolleyball.com wrote in its release.

The Wildcats were one of 11 Big Ten teams ranked with a top-30 recruiting class — the most of any conference (next closest is the Pac-12 with six) ... The recruiting class is the first cohort conducted in full by the coaching staff led by Head Coach Shane Davis ... The class is the highest-ranked for Northwestern since the 18th-ranked class of 2018, comprised of Taylor Tashima, Symone Abbott, Gabrielle Hazen, and Katie Kniep.

YOU SAY HELLO, I SAY...
Northwestern lost six letterwinners from 2016, including Maddie Slater, whose .307 career hitting percentage is second-best in NU history ... The 'Cats also graduated Kayla Morin, who played in every match in her four-year career in Evanston ... Despite the losses, Northwestern returns more than 50 percent in all of the main categories (kills, assists, digs, solo blocks, block assists, and service aces) ... The 'Cats return 76 percent of their assists from 2016.

AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-13th, kills per set-3rd) and Taylor Tashima (assists-5th, assists per set-4th) both are poised to etch their names into Northwestern history with productive senior seasons. With 119 more total attacks, Gabrielle Hazen will have enough to qualify for the career hitting percentage top-10 list ... Her mark of .277 would be good for seventh-place.

Abbott needs 31 kills to move into 12th place (Alison Krumbein, 1,246), while Tashima needs 591 assists to advance to 4th place in the record book.

MILESTONE MARKERS
Taylor Tashima is two total blocks away from 150 for her career ... Sarah Johnson needs 52 digs to surpass the 300 mark ... Symone Abbott needs 169 more total attacks to reach 3,501, which would tie her for the 10th-most in a Northwestern career.