Saturday, September 23
Evanston, Ill. (Evanston Township HS)
7 p.m.
Northwestern
10-4
0
vs
3
Illinois
11-2
1
2
3
F
Illinois
25
25
25
3
Northwestern
23
19
13
0
Wildcats Fall to (rv) Illinois in Home Opener
9/23/2017 9:07:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
EVANSTON, Ill. — Senior outside hitter Symone Abbott continued her rise up the Northwestern record books on Saturday as she passed Stacey Kammes to move into eighth place all-time in career kills.
After starting the match with 1,404 career kills, Abbott finished with a match-high 13 kills to move her total to 1,417 for her career. She is now only three kills behind Liz Douglass for seventh all-time.
Illinois (11-2) went on to win with the match in straight-sets in the Wildcats' home opener at historic Beardsley Gym in Evanston Township High School.
After falling behind early, Northwestern (10-4) mounted a 7-0 scoring run midway through the first set to take a 15-12 lead. Abbott led the charge with three service aces during the run, equaling her previous season high. Abbott finished with a team-high seven kills in the first set, while senior Gabrielle Hazen added four kills while hitting for a .667 clip.
Both teams battled evenly throughout the rest of the set, with Illinois ultimately winning 25-23 to take a 1-0 lead. Northwestern and Illinois tied with 15 kills in the set, however the Illini finished with a .429 attack percentage to the Wildcats' .265.
Northwestern continued to battle tough in the second set, finishing with 13 kills while holding Illinois to just nine, however Illinois went on to win the set, 25-19, and take a 2-0 advantage in the match. First-year outside hitter Nia Robinson led both teams with six kills during the set, while Abbott added four more to bring her total to 10 on the day.
Illinois took control early in the third set and did not relent, winning the set 25-13.
The #B1GCats led the match as a team with 37 assists, with senior setter Taylor Tashima accounting for all of the Wildcats' helpers. Robinson finished with 11 kills on the day while Hazen accounted for eight of her own while hitting .538.
Northwestern will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 29 when they travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers.
After starting the match with 1,404 career kills, Abbott finished with a match-high 13 kills to move her total to 1,417 for her career. She is now only three kills behind Liz Douglass for seventh all-time.
Illinois (11-2) went on to win with the match in straight-sets in the Wildcats' home opener at historic Beardsley Gym in Evanston Township High School.
After falling behind early, Northwestern (10-4) mounted a 7-0 scoring run midway through the first set to take a 15-12 lead. Abbott led the charge with three service aces during the run, equaling her previous season high. Abbott finished with a team-high seven kills in the first set, while senior Gabrielle Hazen added four kills while hitting for a .667 clip.
Both teams battled evenly throughout the rest of the set, with Illinois ultimately winning 25-23 to take a 1-0 lead. Northwestern and Illinois tied with 15 kills in the set, however the Illini finished with a .429 attack percentage to the Wildcats' .265.
Northwestern continued to battle tough in the second set, finishing with 13 kills while holding Illinois to just nine, however Illinois went on to win the set, 25-19, and take a 2-0 advantage in the match. First-year outside hitter Nia Robinson led both teams with six kills during the set, while Abbott added four more to bring her total to 10 on the day.
Illinois took control early in the third set and did not relent, winning the set 25-13.
The #B1GCats led the match as a team with 37 assists, with senior setter Taylor Tashima accounting for all of the Wildcats' helpers. Robinson finished with 11 kills on the day while Hazen accounted for eight of her own while hitting .538.
Northwestern will be back in action on Friday, Sept. 29 when they travel to Piscataway, New Jersey, to take on Rutgers.
••••••
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Team Stats
ILL
NU
Kills
37
37
Errors
7
21
Attempts
74
95
Hitting %
.405
.168
Points
49.0
49.0
Assists
34
37
Aces
5
5
Blocks
7.0
7.0
Game Leaders
Kills-Aces-Blocks
Kills
13
Aces
3
Blocks
2
Kills
11
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Kills
8
Aces
2
Blocks
3
Kills
4
Aces
0
Blocks
3
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Women's VolleyballMB
/ Women's VolleyballOH
/ Women's Volleyball
S
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