Another weekend, another 1-1 finish.
But this time it hurt more.
After winning a five-set match at Indiana Friday night, the Northwestern volleyball team (11-7, 4-2 Big Ten) felt confident heading into its match with No. 24 Ohio State the following day. After all, the Buckeyes had a losing record and had yet to win a conference game.
It was a surprise, then, that Ohio State (7-8, 1-5) — last year’s Big Ten champions — came out strong and swept the Wildcats in three games, proving that the Buckeyes haven’t lost their spark.
“This last loss really hurt,” said sophomore outside hitter Lindsay Pavlik. “It was just one of those games we shouldn’t have lost.”
With a 17-match losing streak in Columbus, NU was at a historical disadvantage before the first ball was served. Even though the Cats had a better record and were fresh off a win, they didn’t play well or capitalize on key opportunities.
“It was such a big game that I think we psyched ourselves out,” Pavlik said.
Unfortunately for NU, the Saturday night match happened to coincide perfectly with the fifth-ranked Ohio State football team’s landslide win over San Jose State.
“Some of the players were intimidated,” Pavlik said of playing in front of 1,200 crazed fans. “It’s kind of like when we lost to Notre Dame. It’s a big school with a big tradition and that got in (our) heads.”
Another factor in the Cats’ loss was their tough travel schedule. Sophomore setter Drew Robertson said the team left Indiana after their match Friday night and pulled into their hotel in Ohio blurry-eyed at around 4 a.m.
“There’s no excuse for how we played, but there wasn’t a lot we could do about it,” Robertson said.
At one point in the second game, the Cats led by nine points but couldn’t keep the lead as the Buckeyes rallied. Last week’s Big Ten Player of the Week Stacey Gordon led Ohio State with 26 kills.
The Buckeyes topped the Cats in kills, digs and blocks. Ohio State’s .238 hitting percentage was well over NU’s .115.
The Cats must now cope with being the one win in the Buckeyes’ conference schedule thus far.
“They’re better than their record shows,” Robertson said.
Although NU was disappointed with the result of Saturday’s match, it can be proud of the way it played in its long battle with the Hoosiers on Friday night. Indiana (12-6, 2-4) dominated the first game, but the Cats won the next two and the crucial fifth game.
“I don’t know what it is about our team,” Pavlik said. “But we get into these five-set games and and we think, ‘We’ve already put this much into the game that we’re not going to lose it now.’ Then we win.”
NU’s excellent blocking was key to its win. Robertson had a career-high six block assists and the Cats notched 34 in the match — the second-highest total in school history.
Along with wins against Illinois and Purdue, the Cats now boast a 3-0 conference record in five-set matches. And NU hasn’t lost any ground in the conference standings — the team still rests in third place with Michigan.
“We have more pride for our team this year,” Pavlik said. “We want to prove that our team isn’t a fluke, that we won those four games because we’re a program to be reckoned with.”
