Northwestern
4-0,0-0Big Ten
Tennessee Tech
0-4,0-0OVC
Wildcats Win Fourth Straight, Down Tennessee Tech 3-1
9/2/2022 12:41:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. - The Northwestern volleyball team tallied a .351 hitting percentage and remained undefeated on the young season with a 3-1 win (25-15, 25-20, 21-25, 25-8) over Tennessee Tech Friday on the road at the Eblen Center. The Wildcats (4-0) are off to their best start of the Shane Davis era, and the program's best start since 2014.
The Wildcats attack was paced by Temi Thomas-Ailara, who finished with 19 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .395, and by Hanna Lesiak, who had 14 kills while hitting .478. Defensively, the Wildcats had two players reach double figures in digs as Megan Miller had 11 and Alexa Rousseau had 10. Tennessee Tech (0-4) was limited to a .140 hitting percentage. Rousseau tallied her first double-double of the year, distributing 36 assists.
Game Notes
» Northwestern attackers combined to hit .351 in the match.
» Ariel Amaya had a team-high two aces in the win.
» Northwestern never trailed on the way to winning the fourth set 25-8.
» Temi Thomas-Ailara had a match and season-high 19 kills for Northwestern. She has recorded double-digit kills in three of four matches.
» Northwestern is off to its best start of the Shane Davis era and last started a season 4-0 in 2014. The 2014 Wildcats won their first five matches and claimed wins in 12 of their first 13 contests.
» Northwestern won the season's first 11 sets before dropping set three to the Golden Eagles, 25-21. The Wildcats last won the first 11 sets of the season in 2011, when they won the first 15.
» Northwestern is 1-0 all-time against Tennessee Tech.
Cats get the morning win?? We are back at it tonight vs Evansville at 5:00pm! #GoCats pic.twitter.com/304z0IUn40
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) September 2, 2022
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats took control of set one at 2-1 and never looked back to win 25-15. Northwestern led by as many as 10 points at 22-12 before closing out the set. Northwestern also supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set.
SET 2 | Northwestern built on a set-one win by securing a 25-20 victory in set two. The Wildcats grabbed the set thanks to a strong showing on the attacking side. Northwestern put together a .313 attack percentage with 14 kills in the set win. The Wildcats ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza. Northwestern's front row had a solid defensive performance, blocking four Tennessee Tech attacks in the stanza.
SET 3 | Northwestern saw its attempt at a 3-0 sweep end when Tennessee Tech took the third set. The Wildcats came up short by the score of 25-21. Northwestern trailed by as many as six points as Tennessee Tech grabbed the advantage for good at 10-9 in a set that was tied up five times before the Golden Eagles took over the lead.
SET 4 | Northwestern then responded to finish off the match with a 25-8 fourth-set victory. The Wildcats led from the first point on in the set to earn the victory. Northwestern finished up the stanza on a strong note, claiming its biggest lead, 17 points, to finish off the set, totaling 15 kills while only notching two attack errors along the way. Northwestern also supplemented their offense with three aces in the set.
Northwestern is back in action later today at the Golden Eagle Invitational at 5 p.m. CT against Evansville.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
