Nov. 24, 2007

Box Score

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern concluded its regular season Saturday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, falling to Purdue in four games, 29-31, 30-21, 30-28, 30-24. The Wildcats finished their Big Ten schedule with a strong 8-4 record over the final 12 matches.

The loss drops Northwestern to 18-13 overall on the season, 9-11 in the Big Ten. Purdue's win improves it to an identical 18-13 mark on the year, 11-9 in the conference. The Wildcats finished in seventh place in the Big Ten.

Game one Saturday night saw Northwestern fall into a six-point hole, 12-6, but the Wildcats came roaring back with a 9-3 run to knot the score at 15. NU got seven kills and a service ace from Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) to propel the run. The Wildcats continued to press, building a four-point lead, 25-21, on a Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) kill.

Another Anderson kill gave the Wildcats game point, 29-25, but the Boilermakers marched all the way back to tie, 29-29. Kills by Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) closed out the game for NU, 31-29.

In game two, Purdue pulled away early and never let Northwestern back into a 30-21 Boilermaker win.

Northwestern came flying out of the gate in game three, building a 14-7 lead to force a Purdue timeout. After the Boilermakers closed to within three, 15-12, a 3-0 NU spurt comprised of a Paulus kill, a block from Hyser and Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and a Glab kill pushed NU's advantage back to six, 18-12.

Purdue then caught fire, forcing a Northwestern timeout after taking the lead for itself, 24-23. The teams fought back and forth over the final points until the Boilermakers claimed a 30-28 win.

Purdue scored the first six points of game four, but Northwestern came back to tie the score at 16 on a Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and Paulus block. Purdue immediately scored the next three points, then ran away for a 30-24 game four win.

Anderson led NU with 19 kills, also recording 13 digs for a double-double. Paulus had a double-double with 16 kills and 10 digs, while Glab had 54 assists and 12 digs for a double-double of her own. Hyser added 14 kills, while libero Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) had a match-best 20 digs.

Northwestern now awaits the NCAA Tournament Selection Show to find out its postseason fate. The show will air at 7 p.m. CT tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 25, on ESPNU.