Still feeling the effects of its Wednesday sweep of No. 15 Wisconsin, the Northwestern volleyball team plans to harness that energy tonight against No. 9 Penn State.
Now that the Wildcats have gotten a taste of victory, there’s no going back.
Freshman outside hitter Christie Gardner said the win against Wisconsin proved NU can — and will — beat other ranked teams.
“We want to come out and kill Penn State,” Gardner said. “It’s going to be another long, difficult match.”
If the Cats can upset two ranked teams in one week, it would be for the first time in more than seven seasons.
“We’re going to try to carry this momentum to Penn State,” NU head coach Keylor Chan said.
While the Cats head to State College, Pa., on a high, the Nittany Lions enter the match with their only conference loss fresh on their minds. No. 8 Minnesota swept Penn State last Saturday.
If it takes an eighth-ranked team to beat the Nittany Lions, do the unranked Cats even stand a chance?
If NU’s performance against Wisconsin is any indication, junior outside hitter Iwona Lodzik definitely thinks so.
“It’s not going to be easy,” Lodzik said, “but we just proved that we can play with heart in our conference.”
Net play will be one of the most competitive aspects of tonight’s match. NU junior Erika Lange leads the conference with an average of 1.48 blocks per game, but two Penn State players are right behind her.
As a team, the Nittany Lions lead the conference in blocks. Robyn Guokas stands in second place with 1.38 blocks per game and teammate Mishka Levy’s 1.36 average puts her in third.
Penn State’s Cara Smith has more than just the top hitting percentage in the Big Ten — she’s also No. 1 in the nation. Her .425 average puts even more pressure on Lange, NU’s top hitter.
Lodzik said her team has “great confidence” heading into the match and is looking to keep its third-place standing in the conference.
A test of Lodzik’s confidence will be the Penn State venue itself. The Nittany Lions’ Rec Hall boasts the sixth-largest attendance in the country with an average of more than 2,200 fans at each match.
If the Cats can pull off the win, they’ll start the second round of matches against Big Ten opponents next weekend on a winning streak. Because NU played a midweek game against Wisconsin, the Cats play tonight and have the rest of the weekend off.
The Cats might be the underdogs tonight, but Chan is excited that they have the chance to play another top team and believes NU can upset the Nittany Lions.
“Let’s just roll out the ball and play,” Chan said.
NU (13-8, 6-3 Big Ten) at No. 9 Penn State
(17-2, 7-1)
6 p.m., today
Rec Hall
State College, Pa.
