Northwestern
Purdue
Wildcats Set For Big Ten Lidlifter at Purdue
9/19/2017 2:57:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
| NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Wednesday, Sept. 20 |
No. 13 Purdue | 6 p.m. | Holloway Gymnasium West Lafayette, Ind. |
Big Ten Network BTN2Go |
GameTracker |
| Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUVBall) | Facebook Match Notes |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern (10-2) will travel to No. 13 Purdue (10-1) to kick off their Big Ten slate, with both squads matching up on Wednesday, Sept. 20 at 6 p.m. CT at Holloway Gymnasium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The Wildcats won the last matchup between the two squads, a 3-1 decision over the 24th-ranked team in the nation at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Oct. 21, 2016. This is the final match for Northwestern before returning to Evanston to host Illinois on Saturday, Sept. 23 at Evanston Township High School at 7 p.m. CT.
PRIOR RETURNS
Northwestern is having a hot start to the 2017 campaign, logging a 10-2 record through 12 competitions ... NU has tied their win output from last season before starting the Big Ten slate ... The 'Cats have a 32-9 set record this season, and posted a nine-match winning streak from Aug. 26 to Sept. 16.
WATCH ME, WATCH ME
Northwestern's match against Purdue will be on the Big Ten Network.
SCOUTING PURDUE
The Boilermakers enter Wednesday's contest with a three-match winning streak and have posted five sweeps out of five home matches this season ... Each of Purdue's starting pin hitters and middle blockers have hitting percentages above .300, and Danielle Cuttino leads Purdue with 141 kills, 3.92 kills per set, and a .388 hitting percentage.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The 'Cats have been very efficient on firing away with their attacks, as their .284 team hitting percentage is 20th-best 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 ... NU also ranks 18th in the nation in kills per set, which is fifth in the conference.
CHART TOPPERS
Symone Abbott leads the Big Ten with 177 kills while Nia Robinson ranks fourth with 149. Only one other player from the Big Ten ranks in the top-150 nationally for total kills.
Abbott is second in the Big Ten and 23rd in the nation with 4.43 kills per set while Robinson is sixth in the conference and 92nd in the nation with 3.63 kills per set. Northwestern is the only Big Ten team with two players in the top-100 nationally in kills per set.
SHE'S HAZEN A GREAT SEASON
Gabrielle Hazen's .410 hitting percentage is the 28th best mark in the country and sixth-best in the Big Ten. Hazen also is fourth in the Big Ten with 52 total blocks. Her 2.39 kills per set is the senior's highest average in her four years at Northwestern.
RUMINATIONS ON RANKINGS
First year Alana Walker's hitting percentage of .338 ranks 21st in the Big Ten and 141st in the nation. Walker is fifth in the conference among first years in hitting percentage and is one of only eighteen first years in the nation to rank in the top-150 nationally in hitting percentage.
AT THE PACE SHE'S ON...
Senior Taylor Tashima is ranked 12th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten with 11.59 assists per set ... That rate is the best of Tashima's career ... In addition, Tashima's 475 total assists are in the top-50 in the nation and isthe third in the Big Ten.
AT YOUR SERVICE (ACE)
The Wildcats have been strong at their service game this season, as their 1.8 aces per set mark is second-best in the conference and is in the top-20 nationwide ... Sarah Johnson and Taylor Tashima's 0.39 ace per set marks are both tied for sixth-best in the conference.
IT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME...
NU leads the Big Ten in allowing the fewest kills per set by their opponents, as the Wildcats' opponents have combined for a 10.10 clip against Northwestern ... The next closest team is Michigan State, with 10.29 ... In the same way, NU leads the conference by allowing only 9.37 assists per set ... Indiana is in second at 9.70.
AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-10th, 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.
Gabrielle Hazen has now moved into fourth place in career hitting-percentage, having just crossed the 1,000 TAs mark for qualification.
Abbott needs four kills to move into sole possesion of 9th place (Jessica Holloway, 1,396), while Tashima needs 115 assists to advance to 4th place in the record book.
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