Northwestern
Illinois
Northwestern Battles Illinois in Home Opener
9/22/2017 1:18:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
| NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | RADIO | LIVE STATS |
| Saturday, Sept. 23 |
(rv) Illinois | 7 p.m. | Historic Beardsley Gym Evanston, Ill. |
BTN Plus on BTN2Go | WNUR | Stats |
| Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUVBall) | Facebook Northwestern Match Notes | Illinois Match Notes Historic Beardsley Gym Fan Guide |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern (10-3) christens their temporary home with a match against in-state foe Illinois on Saturday night at historic Beardsley Gym in Evanston Township High School.
The Wildcats are off to a hot start in the 2017 campaign, recording one of their best non-conference marks in the last decade. NU will play at Beardsley Gym due to the complete, $110-million renovation of Welsh-Ryan Arena.
PRIOR RETURNS
Northwestern is having a hot start to the 2017 campaign, logging a 10-3 record through 13 competitions ... NU has tied their win output from last season ... The 'Cats have a 32-12 set record this season, and posted a nine-match winning streak from Aug. 26 to Sept. 16.
SCOUTING ILLINOIS
Illinois is 10-2 on the season and is currently receiving votes in the latest AVCA coaches poll. Last season, the Illini finished with a 17-14 record a season ago, posting a 10-10 record in conference. Junior middle blocker Ali Bastianelli currently leads the nation with an average of 1.97 blocks per set, while also posting a hitting percentage of .485 which is fourth-best in the nation. Also, first-year outside hitter Marijke Van Dyke played alongside Lexi Pitsas at Munster High School, where they helped lead the Mustangs to IHSAA sectional championships in both 2014 and 2016.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The 'Cats have been very efficient on firing away with their attacks, as their .277 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 eigth-best in the conference ... NU also ranks 25th in the nation in kills per set, which is seventh in the conference.
CHART TOPPERS
Symone Abbott leads the Big Ten with 188 kills while Nia Robinson ranks sixth with 156. 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 4.37 kills per set while Robinson is seventh in the conference and 116th in the nation with 3.55 kills per set. Northwestern is the only Big Ten team with two players in the top-125 nationally in kills per set.
SHE'S HAZEN A GREAT SEASON
Gabrielle Hazen's .395 hitting percentage is in the top-40 in the country and sixth-best in the Big Ten. Hazen also is fourth in the Big Ten with 52 total blocks. Her 2.45 kills per set is the senior's highest average in her four years at Northwestern.
HIGH POWERED MATCHUP
Saturday's match will feature two of the best hitting teams in the country, with Illinois ranking ninth in the nation with a .306 team hitting percentage while Northwestern ranks 20th with a .277 percentage. Both teams also rank in the top-50 in the country in kills per set, with the Wildcats ranked 25th averaging 14.20 kills per set while the Illini are averaging 14.00 kills and are ranked 36th.
AT THE PACE SHE'S ON...
Senior Taylor Tashima is ranked 16th in the country and fifth in the Big Ten with 11.45 assists per set ... That rate is the best of Tashima's career ... In addition, Tashima's 504 total assists are in the top-50 in the nation and is the 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 ...Both Sarah Johnson and Taylor Tashima are both ranked in the top 10 of the conference for aces per set.
IT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME...
NU is third in the Big Ten in allowing the fewest kills per set by their opponents, as the Wildcats' opponents have combined for a 10.50 clip against Northwestern ... In the same way, NU leads the conference by allowing only 9.73 assists per set ... Indiana is in second at 9.70.
AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-9th, 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 five kills to move into sole possesion of eighth place (Stacy Kammes, 1,408), while Tashima needs 86 assists to advance to 4th place in the record book.
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