The Northwestern volleyball team had problems finishing close games this season, but it managed to pull out a squeaker on Saturday, defeating Purdue in five games to end the year on a high note.
It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcats (10-17, 6-14 Big Ten) beat the Boilermakers (4-25, 1-19) in a grueling two-and-a-half hour match in West Lafayette, Ind.
Purdue, playing its last home match of the season, caught NU off guard and took Game 1 from the napping Cats. Although NU didn’t play to the best of its ability at any point, it did play well enough to take Games 2, 3 and 5.
“Both teams played with a ton of heart,” NU junior Kelli Meyer said. “They wanted to win for their seniors, and we wanted to win our last game. So we didn’t play our best volleyball, but we definitely played with enough heart to win.”
The Cats’ main problem was passive play — they were often caught settling into their offense lethargically.
“I don’t think we had any rhythm for the whole match,” sophomore middle blocker Erika Lange said. “It just felt like we had to try harder than we should have. Instead of letting things happen, we forced them and made things harder on ourselves.”
Despite the difficulty in beating the last-place Boilermakers, NU did post some positive numbers in the lengthy match.
Meyer had a banner night, recording a career-high 21 kills along with 10 digs and five blocks. Also posting kill numbers in the teens were Lange with 18, freshman outside hitter Jill Buschur with 16 and junior middle blocker Sarah Ballog with 13.
Freshman setter Drew Robertson had a career-high 65 assists to go along with 17 digs and six blocks.
“I think the season highs can be attributed to our players just being tenacious,” coach Keylor Chan said. “It was a hard-fought match, and it really came down to who wanted it more. It was the first time we really played bad volleyball and gutted it out for the win.”
Ironically, NU’s loss to Wisconsin on Wednesday might have been more impressive than its Saturday victory over the cellar-dwelling Boilermakers. The Cats took on the No. 6 Badgers (25-3, 19-1) in Wisconsin’s fieldhouse in Madison, Wis., a venue packed with 4,100 fans, most of whom were decked out in red for the occasion — the Badgers’ opportunity to clinch the Big Ten title outright.
The lone exceptions to this red sea was the loyal NU parental following and a group of about 50 fans cheering for Meyer — the right side hitter hails from Madison.
“It was so much fun,” Meyer said of playing in the loud arena. “Playing in front of a crowd like that is awesome, whether they’re cheering for you or not.”
Although the score failed to reflect it — Wisconsin swept the Cats in three straight games — the match was extremely competitive. Game 1 was tied at 12 before Wisconsin went on to win, 30-23. Game 2 was also knotted at 14.
Game 3 was particularly tight as the Cats burst out to a 5-2 lead before the score was even at 7, 19, 20, 25 and 27. But NU couldn’t hang on, and the game slipped away as a missed serve, an uncontrolled hit and a communication error brought the final score to 30-27 in favor of the Badgers.
Before the match, Chan decided to double up the block on Badgers All-American outside hitter Sherisa Livingston. Although Livingston still had 16 kills and hit over .300, it was a major defensive improvement over her .700 hitting percentage in the first match between the teams.
NU was strong at the net, outblocking the Badgers 11-9, and Lange had a great night on offense and defense with 12 kills and five blocks.
The Badgers were presented with the Big Ten championship trophy after the match in a planned ceremony, much to the Cats’ chagrin.
“We knew that the lady from the Big Ten was there, and they were assuming they’d win,” Meyer said. “It was frustrating that they didn’t respect us, but I think we played well and earned respect in that match.”
Chan chose to see the ceremony as inspiration for the Cats.
“Wisconsin is a program that has been building for 10 years,” Chan said. “These last two years have been the culmination of that hard work. They deserve it, and it’s good for our kids to see that hard work pay off like we want it to pay off for us.”
