The Northwestern volleyball team left Welsh-Ryan Arena with a bang, beating Iowa in its final home match of the season and ending a monthlong winning drought in the process.
The Wildcats (8-16, 5-13 Big Ten) had lost nine straight matches — including a 3-1 loss to Minnesota on Friday — before topping Iowa 3-1 on Saturday night.
NU dominated the net, tallying 20.5 blocks to the Hawkeyes’ 11. It was NU’s highest total in a Big Ten match all season.
Junior middle blocker Sarah Ballog led the charge with 11 blocks, and sophomore middle blocker Erika Lange picked a big night to get her 300th career block — she had a double-double with 10 kills and 10 blocks.
Lange’s numbers were significant, but even more impressive was her ability to rattle the confidence of Iowa’s hitters, particularly senior outside hitter Sara Meyermann.
Despite Meyermann’s match-high 28 kills, NU was able to contain her down the stretch
“We focused on Meyermann because we thought that if we shut her down, Iowa would go down with her,” NU coach Keylor Chan said. “Erika really forced her to hit harder angles and higher than she is used to. (Lange) has that ability — she can shut down anyone in the nation.”
“By the end, she wasn’t getting any kills,” freshman setter Drew Robertson said.
NU freshman outside hitter Jill Buschur broke out of a slump with a team-high 15 kills.
“I was just a ton more relaxed,” Buschur said of the difference between Saturday’s match and the last few weeks. “I wanted to play better. I relaxed and focused, and I did.”
Sophomore defensive specialist Erica Knavel sang the national anthem on Saturday. Following her fine rendition, the Cats found their rhythm and led Game 1 the entire way, winning 30-25. Game 2 was more of a struggle, as Iowa jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead and held on to win, 30-23.
The Cats played as well as they have all season in Game 3 — communicating on the court, notching a hitting percentage of .351 and blocking seven balls to beat Iowa, 30-25. Game 4 was a quick affair as the Hawkeyes were unable to overcome the NU block en route to a 30-20 loss.
The Cats were well-quarterbacked by Robertson, who had 39 assists.
“It’s evident that Drew is our floor captain,” Chan said. “Our team plays as Drew plays … everybody feeds off what she does.”
The Hawkeyes struggled to find a capable setter during the match, alternating freshman Kassie Petty and sophomore Renee Hill.
Friday’s match was less spectacular for NU. The Cats managed to keep all four games close, but they could not top the Golden Gophers.
For the Cats, Saturday’s win was a payoff for the hard work that has produced few recent wins.
“We’ve been competitive, but that’s the reality of the Big Ten,” Chan said. “It’s just so damn hard every night.”
The Cats travel to No. 6 Wisconsin on Wednesday, and then face Purdue on Saturday in their final match of the season.
