'Cats Stay on the Road for a Pair of Big Ten Matchups

NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL: GAMEDAY INFORMATION
DATE	Opponent	TIME	LOCATION	Streaming	Live Stats
Wednesday, Oct. 13	No. 12 Minnesota	7 pm CT	Minneapolis, Minn.	Big Ten Network	Live Stats
Saturday, Oct. 16	Iowa	7 pm CT	Iowa City, Iowa	B1G+	Live Stats
Social: Twitter: @NUVBall Instagram: @NUVBall

MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. – Northwestern Volleyball will go on the road this week for a pair of Big Ten matchups against No. 12 Minnesota and Iowa.

The 'Cats are looking for revenge tonight against Minnesota at 7 p.m. (Big Ten Network), as they almost knocked off the then-ranked No. 7 Golden Gophers two weeks ago at home in a five set thriller. Despite having four match points in the fourth set, Northwestern was unable to close out the match. The win would have been the highest ranked opponent Northwestern has defeated in the Shane Davis era.

Then on Saturday, the Wildcats travel to Iowa City for primetime volleyball action against the Hawkeyes at 7 p.m. (B1G+). The two teams split last year's series perfectly down the middle, each side taking one match and five sets. Most notably, it was the first time setter Alexa Rousseau played every point as the primary setter, notching her career high of 55 assists in the first match against Iowa last season.

Northwestern has started to play some of its best volleyball against Big Ten opponents in recent memory. The 'Cats took a set off Nebraska for the first time in eight years, won two sets against both Illinois and Minnesota, and took No. 13 Penn State to four sets.

Leading the attacking effort for Northwestern is junior Temi Thomas-Ailara, who's 262 total kills are the most in the Big Ten. Alongside Thomas-Ailara, senior Hanna Lesiak and transfer sophomore Leilani Dodson posted big offensive weekends for the 'Cats posting 27 and 21 kills on the weekend, respectively.

This past weekend was an excellent display of team defense for Shane Davis's team. Rousseau secured her fifth double-double of the season with 44 assists and 18 digs, a new career high. Lesiak and Thomas-Ailara both picked up double-doubles with kills and digs, while Dodson finished the weekend with a team-high six blocks.

'Cats Stay on the Road for a Pair of Big Ten Matchups

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Players Mentioned

Leilani Dodson

Hanna Lesiak

Alexa Rousseau

Temi Thomas-Ailara

Northwestern University Athletics

Northwestern University Athletics