Northwestern University Athletics
Saturday, September 25
Champaign, Ill.
7 p.m. CT
Northwestern
2
at
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Illinois
'Cats Fall to Illinois in Five Sets
9/26/2021 11:50:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Northwestern took Illinois to five sets on Saturday, eventually falling to the Illini in a tight road contest.
Temi Thomas-Ailara tied the game-high with 19 kills, while Leilani Dodson and Hanna Lesiak also posted double-digit kills with 10 each. Alexa Rousseau and Kiara McNulty split the setting duties for Northwestern, collecting 24 and 18 assists each.
After opening with an 8-3 run, the Wildcats held on to a 25-23 victory in the first set. Illinois picked up the next two sets, forcing a must-win fourth set for Northwestern.
The 'Cats battled back from a 5-1 deficit to win an extremely tight fourth set, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. From 5-3 to 22-20, neither team led by more than two points in the back-and-forth affair. Thomas-Ailara tallied six kills in the set, while Hanna Lesiak picked up four kills.
Northwestern fell behind early in the fifth set and could not recover, dropping the final set 15-9.
The Wildcats will continue Big Ten play next weekend as they welcome Rutgers and Minnesota to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats take on Rutgers at 7 p.m. CT on Friday and Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Temi Thomas-Ailara tied the game-high with 19 kills, while Leilani Dodson and Hanna Lesiak also posted double-digit kills with 10 each. Alexa Rousseau and Kiara McNulty split the setting duties for Northwestern, collecting 24 and 18 assists each.
After opening with an 8-3 run, the Wildcats held on to a 25-23 victory in the first set. Illinois picked up the next two sets, forcing a must-win fourth set for Northwestern.
The 'Cats battled back from a 5-1 deficit to win an extremely tight fourth set, forcing a winner-take-all fifth set. From 5-3 to 22-20, neither team led by more than two points in the back-and-forth affair. Thomas-Ailara tallied six kills in the set, while Hanna Lesiak picked up four kills.
Northwestern fell behind early in the fifth set and could not recover, dropping the final set 15-9.
The Wildcats will continue Big Ten play next weekend as they welcome Rutgers and Minnesota to Welsh-Ryan Arena. The 'Cats take on Rutgers at 7 p.m. CT on Friday and Minnesota at 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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