Sept. 2, 2008

Northwestern Volleyball Weekly Release - Sept. 2

Opening Serve
Northwestern hits the road for the first time this season, traveling to the Buckeye State to compete in the Dayton Flyer Tournament on Sept. 5-6. The Wildcats open up against the host Flyers at the Frericks Athletic Center on Friday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. NU then faces a pair of opponents on Saturday, Sept. 6, meeting up with Cleveland State at 12 p.m. before closing out the weekend against Towson at 4 p.m.

Scouting Dayton
The Flyers come into their host tournament 1-2 on the season after competing in the Arizona State Sheraton Classic this past weekend in Tempe, Ariz. Dayton defeated UNLV 3-1 in its season opener, then fell to South Carolina 3-1 and the host Sun Devils 3-0. After capturing the Atlantic-10 championship and advancing to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2007, the Flyers should again compete for a postseason berth as they return 12 letterwinners and five starters. Senior middle blocker Bethany Akerhielm was an all-conference first-team selection, and has registered 33 kills and eight blocks through three matches. Sophomore middle blocker Lindsay Fletemier, the Atlantic-10's Rookie of the Year, has jumped out to a fast start as well as she leads the team in kills (35), hitting percentage (.357) and blocks (12). Kelly Sheffield is in his first season at the helm in Dayton, and is 129-81 (.614) in eight seasons as a head coach.

Scouting Cleveland State
The Vikings are 1-2 on the season after competing in the Northern Illinois Invitational this past weekend. CSU fell to Connecticut 3-1 on Aug. 29 then dropped a three-game set to the host Huskies on Aug. 30 before sweeping Chicago State 3-0 to earn its first victory of the season. Cleveland State finished second in the Horizon League in 2007 and earned a bid to play in the NCAA tournament, and looks to make a return trip with 10 letterwinners and five starters returning. Junior outside hitter Alexis Korovich has paced the Vikings with 28 kills this season and is second in the team in digs with 18, while sophomore middle hitter Amy Benz has registered 19 kills and leads the team in blocks with 12. Head coach Chuck Voss is back for his ninth season at Cleveland State, with a record of 132-108 (.550) with the Vikings, and is 165-144 (.534) overall in his 11 seasons as a head coach.

Scouting Towson
The Tigers have pounced out to a fast start in 2008, posting a 4-0 record en route to capturing the Quinnipiac Invitational crown this past weekend in Hamden, Conn. Towson defeated Rhode Island 3-1 and Fordham 3-2 on Aug. 29 before notching a pair of three-set sweeps over Morgan State and the host Bobcats on Aug. 30. Towson looks to improve greatly on its 7-23 mark in 2007 as all six starters return to the court, led by Crystal Lake native, senior middle blocker Valerie Chromy who registered 193 kills and 75 blocks in 2007 and just captured all-tournament honors at the Quinnipiac Invitational. Junior middle blocker Alysha Fanning earned MVP honors this past weekend and looks to build on an impressive 2007 in which she notched 208 kills and 109 blocks. Paul Koncir is in his third season at Towson with an overall record of 33-32 (.508).

Series Information
Northwestern has a limited history with all three teams competing in the Flyer Tournament, posting a combined record of 5-0. This will be the first-ever meeting between the Wildcats and Flyers, while NU is 2-0 all-time against Cleveland State. The `Cats defeated the Vikings 2-0 in the 1979 in the Northwestern Invitational, and took a 3-1 decision as part of the Hawaii Invitational in 2000. NU is 3-0 all-time against Towson, defeating the Tigers 3-0 in 1998 and 3-2 in 2000 in the Wildcat Classic, and taking a 3-0 victory in the Georgetown Classic in 2007.

Moffett, Glab Earn Chicagoland Challenge All-Tournament Honors
Sophomores Sabel Moffett and Elyse Glab had impressive starts to the season for Northwestern as both picked up Chicagoland Challenge all-tournament honors. Moffett recorded 23 kills, including a career high 14 against Loyola Chicago on Aug. 30, and nine blocks during the two-match tournament, while Glab registered 37 assists in both of the `Cats' matches to go along with eight kills and 23 digs. They were joined on the all-tournament team by Loyola Chicago's Dana VanDiggelen (who was named the tournament's MVP), Mallory Curran and Alyse Serritella, DePaul's Jacie Fiedler and Christin Hunt of Illinois-Chicago.

For the complete weekly release, click here.