The Northwestern volleyball team may have missed the parade, but it had a homecoming of its own last Friday night in the McGaw Fieldhouse.
The Wildcats (7-7, 4-4 Big Ten) beat Purdue (2-12, 1-5) for their first victory at home since defeating Michigan State on Sept. 22 — and posted impressive numbers in the process.
The victory over Purdue was key because it brought the Cats back to .500. And, despite their unimpressive record, the Boilermakers put up a good fight.
“Purdue is a pretty good team,” coach Keylor Chan said. “All the games were close, and we had to play tough for the win.”
The match opened with a nip-and-tuck first game. The teams were tied 14 times in a stretch from 16-16 to a 32-32 deadlock.
Finally, NU pulled away to win, 34-32.
NU owed its success in the first game to strong hitting from freshman outside hitter Jill Buschur and junior middle blocker Sarah Ballog.
“I felt really good,” Buschur said of her performance in the first game. “After (Purdue blockers) got a feel for me (in later games) they were finding me more and I should have mixed up my shots better, but the first game was great.”
Buschur had 18 kills in the match and Ballog had 17, including key hits that unleashed Cats rallies throughout the night.
NU won the second game 30-26, spending considerable time on the brink of victory — the Cats had trouble closing the game after getting to game point at 29-22.
Game 3 was another close contest, the score flip-flopping as it had all night. But this time, NU was not on top and lost 30-28.
Little mistakes — balls dropping untouched and illegal sets — plagued the Cats in the second and third games.
“We’ve tweaked our lineup,” Chan said, explaining the numerous communication breakdowns that cost the Cats. “That’s just the result of not being used to it. The adjustments are great, we just need time to work together.”
The fourth game belonged to NU from the beginning, largely because of unforced errors by the Boilermakers. Strong work at the net from Ballog and sophomore middle blocker Erika Lange brought the score to 29-24.
Junior right side hitter Kelli Meyer had a banner night, recording NU’s first triple-double of the season with 16 kills, 19 digs and 10 assists.
Cassie McKnight, usually lauded for her defense, ended the game with an exclamation point — a match-point service ace.
The Cats’ passing, the main thorn in their side this season, was more consistent than it had been all season. Sophomore outside hitter Molly Kamp, who had a subpar performance against Wisconsin last Wednesday, passed especially well for the Cats, ending the night with her fourth double-double of the season (10 kills, 13 digs).
“Molly did a great job tonight,” Chan said. “She came back and played like the captain.”
The Cats’ offense focuses mainly on middle blockers Lange and Ballog to keep games up-tempo, so the outside hitters are not set as often as the middle blockers. This often results in fewer kills for the outside hitters, but Meyer, Kamp and Buschur were all in double digits against the Boilermakers.
“You have to find a way to get kills on off-balls,” Kamp said, explaining how she and the other outsides get kills while not getting set very often. “Even if they’re not perfect, consistent sets, you have to get points.”
The Cats resume action at Loyola at 7 p.m. tonight, making up a canceled match that was originally scheduled for Sept. 11.
Loyola boasts an impressive record — 11-5 overall and 7-0 in league — but is a member of the Horizon League, which is much weaker than the Big Ten.
The Ramblers were swept in three by both Big Ten teams it played this season, losing to Illinois on Sept. 4 and to Ohio State on Sept. 7.
