Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Milwaukee
NU Heads to Nearby DePaul for Three-Match Invitational
9/7/2017 9:42:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
| NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: MATCH DAY INFORMATION | |||||
| DATE | OPPONENT | TIME | LOCATION | BROADCAST | LIVE STATS |
| Friday, Sept. 8 | Milwaukee | 4:30 p.m. | McGrath-Phillips Arena Chicago, Ill. |
N/A | Live Stats |
| Saturday, Sept. 9 | Army | 12 p.m. | McGrath-Phillips Arena Chicago, Ill. |
N/A | Live Stats |
| Saturday, Sept. 9 | DePaul | 7:30 p.m. | McGrath-Phillips Arena Chicago, Ill. |
depaulbluedemons.com | Live Stats |
| Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) | Instagram (@NUVBall) | Facebook Game Notes: Northwestern | Milwaukee | Army | DePaul |
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EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern volleyball, on a 5-1 start to their season for the first time since 2014, will face off against three non-conference opponents, Sept. 8-9, at nearby McGrath-Phillips Arena.
NEW FRIENDS, OLD FRIENDS
NU is four-for-four in its matchups with Milwaukee, including two competitions in the last five seasons ... Most recently, the 'Cats topped the Panthers, 3-0, in September 2015 ... This weekend will be the first time Northwestern has dueled against Army ... Saturday's nightcap will be the most recent in a long playing history between NU and DePaul, as the two schools have played 24 times since 1977 ... Northwestern leads the all-time series 16-7-1 ... The two squads have not met since 2005, however.
WATCH ME, WATCH ME
Northwestern's match against DePaul will be live-streamed on the Blue Demons' website.
ABOUT MILWAUKEE
The Panthers are led by senior Jess Kalous, who is hitting .476 — good for 16th-best in the nation — through Milwaukee's first seven matches. The Panthers were voted fourth out of nine teams in the preseason Horizon league poll and have picked up three-set sweeps over Northern Illinois, Samford, and Loyola (Chicago) in their 2017 campaign.
ABOUT ARMY
The Black Knights are powered by a strong senior contingent, including Carolyn Bockrath, who leads Army in points per set (3.84) and hitting percentage (.452) ... All four of Army's wins this season have come in three-set sweep fashion ... They most recently topped Marist in three games on Sept. 5.
ABOUT DePAUL
Fresh off a season in which the Blue Demons won a program-best seven BIG EAST matches, DePaul has gona 2-3 in the early-goings of the 2017 slate ... The Blue Demons swept the UIC Invitational (Aug. 31-Sept. 2), including wins over Idaho and host UIC ... Senior Jasmine King leads DePaul with her .388 hitting percentage.
IN THE LEAD
Northwestern has had the lead in attack percentage in all six matches they have played in this season.
DOUBLE, DOUBLE, TOIL AND TROUBLE
Senior Symone Abbott has already recorded two double-doubles (kills and digs) in her first three matches ... Northwestern didn't have one of that nature after September 16 of last season ... Senior Taylor Tashima notched her first double-double of the season against South Carolina (digs and assists).
HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT
The 'Cats have been very efficient on firing away with their attacks, as their .299 team hitting percentage is 14th-best in the nation ... If you needed any reminder of how dominant the Big Ten is for volleyball, that mark is also seventh-best in the conference.
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.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Twelve out of the 18 members on the Wildcat squad are either first-years or sophomores (67 percent).
LEADERSHIP 101
Four members of the Wildcat coaching staff (Shane Davis, Kevin Moore, Brian Toron, and Shari Davis) have been collegiate head coaches.
AN EYE ON THE RECORD BOOK
Symone Abbott (kills-11th, 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 33 more total attacks, Gabrielle Hazen will have enough to qualify for the career hitting percentage top-10 list ... Her mark of .292 would be good for fifth place.
Abbott needs five kills to move into 10th place (Shelley Brzozowski, 1,304), while Tashima needs 330 assists to advance to 4th place in the record book.
MILESTONE MARKERS
Taylor Tashima needs three more matches played to reach 100 in her career ... Symone Abbott needs three more total attacks to reach 3,587, which would give her the eighth-most in a career in NU history.
YOU GO, WE GO
Symone Abbott has been one of the linchpins to NU's offense so far this season as her 12.00 attacks per set mark is tops in the Big Ten and in the top-25 in the nation.
B1G-TIME VOLLEYBALL
The Big Ten Conference dominated the AVCA poll, with three teams in the top-10 and eight teams in the top-25.
GOOD-BETTER-BEST
Nine of the 12 teams the Wildcats will play in their non-conference slate had records of .500 or better in 2016 ... That compares to only six of the 12 teams the 2016 'Cats played in non-conference finished with records at .500 or better.
THE HEIGHT OF THEIR POWERS
Northwestern boasts 12 student-athletes who measure at 6-foot or taller ... Seven of those are 6-foot-2 or taller.
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