Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern Ready for Rutgers, No. 3 Penn State
9/28/2017 2:09:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
| NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | ||||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS | |
| Friday, Sept. 28 |
Rutgers | 6 p.m. CT | College Ave. Gym New Brunswick, N.J. |
BTN2Go | ScarletKnights.com | |
| Saturday, Sept. 29 |
No. 3 Penn State | 6:30 p.m. CT | Rec Hall University Park, Pa. |
BTN2Go | GameTracker | |
| Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUVBall) | Facebook Northwestern Match Notes | Penn State Match Notes |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern (10-4, 0-2 Big Ten) travels east on Friday and Saturday to face-off against Rutgers (5-9, 0-2 Big Ten) and No. 3 Penn State (11-1, 1-1 Big Ten) in continuation of conference play.
The Wildcats, who recently began their season with matches against No. 13 Purdue and Illinois, seek to post their 11th win of the season, topping last season's output before the halfway point of this campaign.
PRIOR RETURNS
Northwestern is having a hot start to the 2017 campaign, logging a 10-4 record through 14 competitions ... NU has tied their win output from last season ... The 'Cats have a 32-15 set record this season, and posted a nine-match winning streak from Aug. 26 to Sept. 16.
#FRIDAYFEELING
Northwestern is undefeated in five contests on Fridays this season ... The Wildcats seek to make it 6-0 against Rutgers.
SCOUTING RUTGERS
Rutgers is 5-9 on the season and is 0-2 in conference play thus far. Last season, the Scarlet Knights finished with a 4-29 record, posting an 0-20 record in conference. As a team, Rutgers is ranked fifth in the conference in aces per set, averaging 1.52. First-year Kamila Cieslik is currently second in the conference with 22 total service aces. Cieslik also ranks 10th in the Big Ten in points per set, averaging 4.06.
SCOUTING PENN STATE
The Nittany Lions are concluding a seven-match homestand against Northwestern, and have been led by Simone Lee, who has posted a 4.17 kills per set clip, which is in the top-50 in the nation. Penn State's .349 hitting percentage is tops in the nation.
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The 'Cats have been very efficient on firing away with their attacks, as their .271 team hitting percentage is 24th-best in the nation ... If you needed any reminder of how dominant the Big Ten is for volleyball, that mark is also eighth-best in the conference ... NU also ranks 30th in the nation in kills per set, which is 10th in the conference.
CHART TOPPERS
Symone Abbott leads the Big Ten with 201 kills while Nia Robinson ranks seventh with 167. Only three other players from the Big Ten rank in the top-150 nationally for total kills.
Abbott is second in the Big Ten and 27th in the nation with 4.37 kills per set while Robinson is seventh in the conference and 112th 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 .404 hitting percentage is in the top-25 in the country and sixth-best in the Big Ten. Hazen also is eigth in the Big Ten with 55 total blocks. Her 2.47 kills per set is the senior's highest average in her four years at Northwestern.
AT THE PACE SHE'S ON...
Senior Taylor Tashima is ranked 14th in the country and fourth in the Big Ten with 11.51 assists per set ... That rate is the best of Tashima's career ... In addition, Tashima's 541 total assists are in the top-60 in the nation and is the fourth in the Big Ten.
AT YOUR SERVICE (ACE)
The Wildcats have been strong at their service game this season, as their 1.77 aces per set mark is the best in the conference and is the 11th best in the nation ...Both Sarah Johnson and Taylor Tashima are both ranked in the top 15 of the conference for aces per set.
IT'S THE NAME OF THE GAME...
NU is second in the Big Ten in allowing the fewest kills per set by their opponents, as the Wildcats' opponents have combined for a 10.62 clip against Northwestern ... In the same way, NU leads the conference by allowing only 9.83 assists per set ... Indiana is in second at 10.06.
AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-8th, 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 possession of seventh place (Liz Douglass, 1,420), while Tashima needs 49 assists to advance to 4th place in the record book.
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