Indiana University Athletics
Indiana University
Northwestern
Hoosiers Fall To Northwestern, 3-1
10/20/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Oct. 20, 2006
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Indiana University volleyball team fell to Northwestern, 3-1 (30-22, 25-30, 30-23, 30-18), on Friday evening in University Gym. The Hoosiers are now 10-11 overall on the season and have a record of 1-8 against Big Ten opponents while the Wildcats are now 10-8 overall and 4-5 in the conference.
"We need to terminate the ball more," head coach Katie Weismiller said. "We've been taking a lot of swings, but are not terminating the ball. We need to do that to win. Our defense was good today, especially Juli [Pierce], but everything needs to go together."
The Hoosiers held the early 3-1 lead in the first game, but Northwestern came back to knot the score at 3-3, setting off a string of three tie scores and two lead changes before the Wildcats took the lead at 7-6 on a block by Brittney Aldridge and Courtnie Paulus. Northwestern would hold onto that advantage for the remainder of the game, with the Hoosiers staying within three points at various times before falling, 30-22.
Northwestern took the first lead in the second frame, but the Hoosiers tied it up at 4-4 on a kill by Lauren Ditteon. A service error for Northwestern put Indiana up 6-5, and another error and a service ace by Juli Pierce built the IU advantage. Three points would be the closest that the Wildcats would get in the remainder of the match, which the Hoosiers took, 30-25.
The two teams knotted the score nine times throughout the third stanza, with Northwestern drawing first blood. After trading points back and forth throughout the beginnings of the match, Northwestern rattled off four consecutive points to take a 14-10 lead. A block by Annie Moddrell, a kill by Ditteon and a service ace from Allison Regas, coupled with a Wildcat error, tied the score at 14-14 and swung the momentum in IU's favor. However, a kill by Lindsay Anderson put Northwestern up, 18-17, and that lead held and the Wildcats closed out the game at 30-23.
Northwestern took a commanding lead to open the fourth game, 10-4. That advantage grew, but the Hoosiers made a late charge and held the deficit to just 10 in the closing moments of the game. Northwestern took the game, and the match, 30-18.
Leading the way for the Hoosiers were Short and Emily Zulauf with 14 kills each. Zulauf's total tied her career-high, which was set in IU's five-game win over Michigan earlier this season. Regas had a career-high 42 assists in the match, while Pierce picked up a season-high 24 digs.
Anderson led the Wildcats with 21 kills while Palus chipped in 16, Julie Purcell tallied 15 and Chelsy Hyser had 10. Kate Nobilio had 25 digs to pace Northwestern while Aldridge added seven block assists.
The Hoosiers will return to action on Saturday, Oct. 21, when they play host to Illinois in University Gym. Match time is scheduled for 7 p.m.
Players Mentioned
