Northwestern
6-4,0-0Big Ten
Yale
4-3,0-0Ivy League
Wildcats Dominate Yale In Non-Conference Finale, 3-0
9/15/2023 7:47:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Dodson, Sangiacomo each put up 11 kills in victory
EVANSTON, Ill. (September 15, 2023) - Northwestern put an exclamation point on its non-conference slate on Friday evening, surging to a 25-22, 25-19, 25-13 win over Yale (4-3) before a raucous crowd of 3,598 fans inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
With their victory over the Bulldogs, the 'Cats move to 6-4 on the year ahead of the start of Big Ten Conference play.
?????? our way into @B1GVolleyball! #GoCats pic.twitter.com/5oPUckeBzt
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) September 16, 2023
How It Happened
SET 1 | Leilani Dodson wasted no time making an impact, sparking an early Wildcat push with a slide kill that put Northwestern in front, 4-2. Kennedy Hill was the beneficiary of an overpass kill following a strong serve from Alexa Rousseau that pushed the gap to 9-4. Yale answered back, rattling off four unaswered to pull even at 12-12 before Northwestern responded with four straight points of its own, the last of which came on a Rousseau kill that prompted a Bulldog timeout with the 'Cats leading, 17-13. Yale refused to go away, leveling the set at 17-17. With the score knotted at 22-22, a Dodson kill sparked a set-ending 3-0 spurt, capped off by a tandem block from Dodson and Maddy Chinn that sealed a 25-22 win.
SET 2 | Another Dodson slide kill gave Northwestern its first lead of the second set, 4-3. Back-to-back Kathryn Randorf spikes sparked a 4-0 surge that put the Wildcats in control, 10-6. Chinn went crosscourt to push the gap to 16-9 ahead of a block by Dodson and Rousseau that capped off a marathon rally, stretching the margin to 22-15. Julia Sangiacomo's third kill of the frame closed out a 25-19 victory that staked the Wildcats to a 2-0 lead in the match.
SET 3 | After a back and forth start to the third set that saw the two teams even at 10-10, Northwestern seized momentum with a 6-0 run that featued Gigi Navarrete at the service line, taking a 16-10 lead following a Dodson kill. The Wildcats didn't let up the rest of the way, prevailing by a 25-13 final to close out the match.
Game Notes
» Dodson and Sangiacomo finished with 11 kills apiece to lead Northwestern.
» Dodson continued her efficient work of late, hitting .409 (11-2-22), her eighth straight outing hitting above the .400 mark.
» Sangiacomo has reached double figures in kills in seven of her eight appearances this season.
» Randorf operated at a career-best .615 clip (9-1-13), adding nine kills.
» Rousseau totaled 34 assists while also making her presence felt on the attacking front, putting up six kills.
» Chinn owned the Wildcats' two service aces on the night, in addition to chipping in seven kills.
» Ellee Stinson posted 16 digs, marking her sixth match this season with at least 15 digs.
» Gigi Barr and Betsy Goodenow each totaled eight kills to pace Yale's attack.
Up Next
With non-conference play complete, Northwestern will turn its attention towards Big Ten Conference play, which begins on Friday, September 22 when No. 1 Wisconsin comes to Welsh-Ryan Arena for a 7 p.m. first serve.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.
