Nov. 14, 2008

NU vs. Iowa Box Score

2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern had four players notch double-digit kills and sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out a season-high 59 assists, but in the end it was Iowa who escaped Welsh-Ryan Arena with a five-set victory over the Wildcats (25-20, 22-25, 11-25, 25-22, 15-13) Friday evening. The loss drops NU to 8-18 on the season and 2-13 in Big Ten play, while the Hawkeyes sweep the season series and improve to 14-13 on the year and 6-9 in conference action.

Iowa drew first blood on the night, jumping out to an early 10-5 lead on the Wildcats in the opening stanza. NU would rally to reclaim the lead at 13-11, but the Hawkeyes outscored the `Cats 14-7 down the stretch to take the 25-20 opening set victory. Senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) had four kills early, with sophomores Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) and Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) adding three of their own. Glab had 12 assists while junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) added 10 digs defensively.

The second set was closely contested throughout, as neither team was able to build a cushion of more than three points throughout. Tied at 22 a piece, Northwestern got a kill from Gray and a pair of service aces from Glab to seal the 25-22 victory. Gray's six kills paced the offensive attack while Moffett added five in the victory. Hyser notched three kills and added a pair of blocks, moving her into sixth-place on the all-time blocks list at Northwestern. Glab again came up big with 15 assists while Nobilio added six digs.

Northwestern owned the third set from the opening whistle, registering the first four points and never looking back. The `Cats used an 8-0 run late to break the set open, and cruised to the 25-11 victory behind four kills from junior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja). Hyser added a pair of kills and three more blocks as well.

Holding a 2-1 advantage, the Wildcats were looking to close out the Hawkeyes and again had momentum on their side, notching the first five points of the fourth set to seemingly take control of the match. But Iowa slowly pushed its way back into the match, as despite trailing 14-10 outscored Northwestern 15-8 down the stretch, including three straight kills with the set knotted at 22 a piece to seal the 25-22 victory and force a decisive fifth set. Sophomore Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) led the Wildcat offense with four kills and Glab continued her stellar play with 12 assists.

Feeding off the momentum, Iowa jumped out early on the `Cats in the fifth set to the tune of a 7-1 lead. Leading 14-10 late, Northwestern mounted one final comeback and got to within a single point at 14-13, but a kill by Catherine Smale closed out the match for the Hawkeyes. Smale lead all players with 22 kills, while teammate Megan Schipper added 12 kills of her own for Iowa and Laura Kremer tallied six blocks.

Moffett's 16 kills lead the way for the Wildcats, followed by 15 from Gray, 13 from Hyser and 10 from Baxterbeck. Johnson nearly made it five `Cats in double-figures, recording nine kills on the night. Hyser lead the way with six blocks for NU, including one solo block, and now has 410 for her career, surpassing Mary Stack for sixth on the all-time list.

Glab's 59 assists was a new season-high, surpassing the 54 she had against Wichita State on Sept. 13, and finished just five shy of her personal-best 64 at Wisconsin last season. Nobilio finished the night with 28 digs, upping her career total to 1,585 and moving her to within 100 digs of the all-time Wildcat record, trailing Christie Gardner by just 73.

Up next for the `Cats is a meeting with 15th-ranked Minnesota, who outlasted Wisconsin in five sets and remains in second-place in the Big Ten standings. Opening serve is at 7 p.m. at Welsh-Ryan Arena, with live streaming video and stats available through NUSports.com.