Coming so close to one of the most coveted wins of the season and seeing it slip away would rank high on any team’s list of disappointments.
Just ask the Northwestern volleyball team.
The Wildcats couldn’t capitalize on their 2-0 game lead in Wednesday’s match against No. 14 Wisconsin in Madison and lost to the Badgers 3-2.
“We’re really frustrated,” sophomore setter Drew Robertson said. “After taking the first two games, we thought we had it, but we couldn’t come through.”
The loss ruined the Cats’ attempt to sweep the Badgers (21-7, 12-5 Big Ten) in matches this season for the first time since 1986. In the two teams’ last meeting, NU (16-13, 9-8) came out on top, winning 3-0.
But the roles were reversed once Wisconsin had the home-court advantage. With nearly 3,000 fans in attendance, the crowd was a major factor for the Badgers — although not until the third game.
“We first came out and shut the crowd up,” Robertson said.
NU also seemed to have the upper hand in the third set, but Wisconsin came from behind to take the lead and never let the Cats back into the game.
And once the Badgers showed signs of forcing a fourth game, the spectators came to life.
“The crowd started getting rowdy when Wisconsin started winning in the third game,” NU head coach Keylor Chan said. “And I think the players let it affect them.”
Junior middle blocker Erika Lange again led the Cats in kills, racking up 21 for a team-high .381 hitting percentage. Coming in second for NU was junior outside hitter Iwona Lodzik with 18, followed by freshman outside hitter Christie Gardner, who posted 17.
Chan also cited Robertson’s 64 set assists as key to NU’s strong showing.
Service ace numbers also favored the Cats, who tallied eight while the Badgers had none. Senior outside hitter Cassie McKnight earned five of the aces.
With NU also outnumbering Wisconsin 13-8 in blocks, what went wrong for the Cats?
“It wasn’t one thing,” Robertson said. “We just weren’t terminating and weren’t making clutch plays, and Wisconsin was.”
In the first two games, NU never posted lower than a .200 hitting percentage. But in the last three sets, the team never earned a number higher than .160. For the night, the Badgers connected with .263 of their attack attempts compared to just .201 for the Cats.
“We needed to have our energy up,” Chan said. “And it just never got up to the point it needed to be.”
While NU went into the match against a ranked Wisconsin team intent on avenging its previous loss, the Cats can still take comfort in the fact that they pushed the No. 14 Badgers to five games.
“It takes a special effort to win at Wisconsin,” Chan said. “We showed displays of good play early but then couldn’t execute.”
With the announcement of NCAA tournament bids looming, every match is a crucial one for the Cats. NU has three more chances to add victories to its record — first and foremost a battle with No. 17 Penn State on Saturday.
Chan said the most important thing for his team to do right now is leave the frustration over last night’s loss back in Madison.
“We need to let it go — and let it go quickly — so we can worry about Penn State,” Chan said.
