Nov. 14, 2006

Northwestern's Match Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern celebrates Senior Weekend this weekend at Welsh-Ryan Arena, welcoming No. 23 Purdue to town Friday before taking on Indiana Saturday night. Both matches are scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

Live video streaming with audio commentary will be available for both matches at NUsports.com via All-Access. Gametracker also will be available for both matches.

Friday night is Purple Pride Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, with all fans wearing purple receiving $2 admission. Saturday on Senior Night, admission for ALL fans is just $2, or it is FREE with a ticket stub from the day's football game against Illinois.

Prior to the start of Saturday's match against the Hoosiers, the Wildcats will honor their three seniors: Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood), Cassie McLaughlin (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) and Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption).

Northwestern enters the final four matches of the season one match above NCAA Tournament eligibility at 13-12, and faces a big weekend at home with No. 19 Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State looming in the season's final weekend.

The Boilermakers come into Friday's match ranked No. 23 in the nation, but have dropped their last four matches in a row. In its previous meeting with Northwestern in West Lafayette, Ind., Purdue prevailed in four games despite trailing in every game of the match.

Indiana began the season with a 9-3 nonconference record before winning its first Big Ten match against Michigan. The Hoosiers since have lost 15 matches in a row, and currently are last in the conference with a 10-18, 1-15 mark.

Northwestern is on a two-game slide of its own after facing No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 13 Minnesota on the road last weekend. The Wildcats took the Badgers to the brink in a 3-2 loss, using a spirited comeback to rebound from an 0-2 deficit. Sophomore Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) had her first-career double-double in the match with 11 kills and 12 blocks, joining middle blocker Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) as Wildcats earning double-doubles this season with kills and blocks. Prior to this year, the last 'Cat to do so was Erika Lange on Dec. 6, 2002.

For Northwestern's complete weekend match notes, click on the .pdf link at the top of this page.