Aug. 30, 2002

Box Score

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - The season-opening dominance continued for the Northwestern women's volleyball team Friday night with a three-game sweep of Southern Methodist University (30-24, 30-22, 30-27) in the opening match of the Spring Hill Suites Invitational in Charlotte, N.C.

With the victory, the Wildcats improve to 20-5-1 since 1977 in their opening match of the season.

Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland) paced Northwestern with 16 kills, 18 digs and a .483 hitting percentage while Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif.) added 12 kills for the victors.

The Wildcats recorded a 63-41 advantage in digs and had 50 kills compared to 38 for the Mustangs.

The opening game remained tight throughout the majority of the frame before the Wildcats broke open a 20-19 deficit by scoring 11 of the final 16 points.

Northwestern then rode the wave of momentum throughout the next two games, trailing only once (3-2) early in game two before fending off SMU in the final game.

The Wildcats posted 11 service aces in the match and outhit the Mustangs, .270 to .189.

Allison Holder and Beth Karasek each recorded eight kills to lead SMU.

The victory lifts Northwestern's record to 1-0 on the season while SMU falls to 0-1. The Wildcats will return to action Saturday with matches against East Tennessee State and Charlotte to conclude the tournament.