The Northwestern women’s volleyball showed its ability to play with one of the best teams in the nation last night at McGaw Fieldhouse. The Wildcats ran off nine straight points in the first game before No. 6 Wisconsin eventually pulled out a 31-29 victory.
“The first game was a real positive for our team,” Cats’ outside hitter Erika Lange said. “We know we can compete with any team, we just need to continue to improve.”
Outside hitter Cassie McKnight’s powerful jump serve propelled the Cats’ (6-7, 3-4 Big Ten) first-game run after NU had fallen behind 27-18. Wisconsin (13-2, 7-0) rallied and claimed the game after breaking a 29-29 tie.
“We knew they had the ability to make a run because they are a good team,” Wisconsin outside hitter Lisa Zukowski said. “We were not passing well, and they continued to take care of the ball.”
After the dramatic loss, NU came out flat in the second game as the Badgers’ offense began to dominate. Wisconsin All-American middle blocker Sherisa Livingston and Zukowski controlled the net, and the visitors took the second set, 30-15.
“Momentum is critical, and we lost the momentum after the first set,” NU head coach Keylor Chan said. “We let up the pressure, and against a team like that you have to keep putting pressure on them to stay close.”
The exceptional play of Lange at the net was the bright spot for NU in the second game. Lange finished the match with 11 kills, as did fellow blocker Jill Buschur.
“Erika played an awesome game tonight,” teammate Sarah Ballog remarked. “She was pounding the balls tonight, and she did it all.”
The second game also had a 10-minute delay because of a rotation controversy. The unscheduled break ended up costing NU a point, and the home team failed to use the break to slow down the Badgers.
In the third game, the Cats showed more emotion as freshman setter Drew Robertson continued to motivate her teammates. However, NU’s passing, the team’s Achilles heel, plagued the team yet again in the decisive game.
“Our passing problems were very evident tonight,” Lange said. “We passed well in the first game, but the last two games we were very inconsistent.”
A late run in the third set, once again behind McKnight’s serving, kept the final game close. But NU’s late charge fell short as the Big Ten’s top team closed out the match, 30-21, in front of a crowd filled with vocal Wisconsin supporters.
“Cassie’s jump serve is a real weapon for our team,” Ballog said. “However, we made our runs when there was no pressure, and when we were down by 15.”
The Cats’ play in the opening game demonstrated their ability to compete with one of the nation’s top teams, but the last two games proved that the team still has a lot to do before it reaches the level of a powerhouse program such as Wisconsin.
“We know we need to work on three skills: serving, passing and defense,” Chan said. “We have the athletes to compete up front — we just need to work on the other aspects of our game.”
