Coming off a 3-0 sweep of Iowa Friday — a victory that gave the Northwestern volleyball team its first three-game Big Ten winning streak since 1988 — the Wildcats were riding high.
But Sunday, No. 6 Minnesota stopped the Cats in their tracks with a 3-0 victory at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Despite the split, the weekend left the Cats feeling confident.
“Now we have higher expectations than last year’s team,” said senior captain Kelli Meyer.
The Cats (10-6, 3-1 Big Ten) went back and forth with the Golden Gophers (17-2, 4-0) but never got control.
“We wanted it,” Meyer said. “But it didn’t work our way.”
After an early NU lead, Minnesota used a 6-0 run to win the first game, 30-22. The Gophers notched a hitting percentage of .226 for the game, compared to NU’s .026.
Dissatisfied with their game-one performance, the Cats tried a different strategy, hoping to better their play in the pivotal second game.
And they did.
In a tight game where neither team led by more than two points, NU appeared to dictate play. The Cats’ 15 kills during the second game outmatched the Gophers’ 12, but this stat didn’t translate to an NU win.
Ultimately, it was the Minnesota defense that proved why the Gophers are ranked No. 6 — they had 17 block assists on the day, compared with NU’s six. The Gophers won, 30-28.
“We controlled most of (the second) game but made critical errors,” said NU head coach Keylor Chan.
Minnesota dominated the third game as well, nailing kills early and never giving NU a chance to take the lead.
With standout performances by two-time Big Ten Volleyball Player of the Week Cassie Busse and middle blocker Bethany Brafford, Minnesota hit a .224 percentage for the day. And NU only managed a .043.
“I think we knew our opponent,” Meyer said. “We did what we could — we watched tape on them and we called it out — but it wasn’t enough.”
In Friday’s home contest against Iowa (6-8, 0-4), it was the Cats’ turn to dominate, as they blanked the Hawkeyes.
Junior Erika Lange’s sprained ankle felt good enough for her to play both Friday and Sunday after she took it easy in practice last week. Wearing a brace, the middle blocker dominated play against Iowa, nailing 20 kills and hitting a career-high .607.
NU’s team-hitting percentage of .398 — the sixth-highest in school history for a single game — easily outdid the Hawkeyes’ .118.
After the Iowa sweep, NU players were confident going up against Minnesota.
“We expected to win,” Meyer said. “With Iowa, we did what we planned to do, but we’re very disappointed about Minnesota.”
Despite the loss, the Cats move down only one spot in the Big Ten standings into a tie for second with Michigan and Michigan State.
NU has one more chance to beat Minnesota when the Cats travel to Minneapolis on Nov. 8. Referring to the Gophers as her team’s most difficult opponent this season, Meyer is wary of the next encounter.
“Now we know that we have to go to Minnesota and win there,” she said. “Their arena is going to be tough.”
IOWA 0
NU 3
MINN 3
NU 0
