Nov. 17, 2006

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern took the first game of its match Friday night against No. 23 Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena, but the Boilermakers came back to take the match in four, 30-32, 30-18, 30-25, 30-24.

The loss drops the Wildcats to 13-13 overall on the year, 7-10 in the conference. The Boilermakers improve to 20-8, 10-7 with the win.

Northwestern held an early lead in game one, but Purdue came back to hold a small advantage as the teams went back and forth on points. When the Boilermakers' lead reached its largest at four, 20-16, Wildcats' head coach Keylor Chan used a timeout. A kill by junior Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) and a solo block from junior Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) helped NU score the next three points and cut the deficit to one, 20-19, causing a Purdue timeout. An Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) ace knotted the score, 20-20.

The squads exchanged points until the Boilermakers edged back out to a two-point lead, 26-24, and Chan called his second timeout.

Purdue earned game point, 29-27, but Paulus got a kill and a solo block to knot the score, 29-29. Another Paulus kill put NU up 30-29, and two points later Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) slammed home a kill to give the Wildcats the win, 32-30.

In game two, the Boilermakers opened a quick lead, 8-5, but three-consecutive service aces from freshman Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) evened the score, 8-8. From there, Purdue poured on the pressure, eventually running away with a 30-18 game two win to even the match, 1-1.

The teams exchanged runs to begin game three, and Northwestern used a timeout when Purdue took a four-point lead, 11-7. The Boilermakers continued to extend that lead, forcing another timeout when the advantage hit nine, 16-7. Northwestern came out of the break to score the next four points on a pair of blocks, a kill from Kelly Keporos (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) and an ace from Jurivich.

Purdue continued to drive, however, and earned its first game point try, 29-22. Northwestern scored the next three points, but eventually fell in game three, 30-25.

In game four, the Wildcats opened up a quick five-point lead, 8-3, to force a Boilermaker timeout. NU held its advantage but Purdue slowly crept back, tying the score, 18-18, and causing a Northwestern timeout. The Boilermaker run continued, with the visitors eventually winning the game, 30-24, and the match, 3-1.

Paulus led Northwestern with a season-best 24 kills, while Jurivich had a double-double with 49 assists and 12 digs. Baxterbeck added 10 digs, while Nobilio had a match-best 16.

Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. CT tomorrow night, Saturday, Nov. 18 against Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena. It is Senior Night, with admission for everyone just $2. Admission is free with a ticket stub from Saturday's football game against Illinois.

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