The Northwestern volleyball team entered its first full weekend of conference play as losers of its last three, and winless in the Big Ten. Aspirations of a conference title began to look hazy as the Wildcats found themselves closer to the bottom of the standings than to the top.
On Saturday, NU (10-6, 1-3 Big Ten) was able to secure their first Big Ten victory by beating Iowa, after falling to Minnesota 3-0 (34-32, 30-26, 34-32) Friday night. It was NU’s 20th consecutive loss to the Golden Gophers, dating back to 1993.
With solid leadership coming from a talented core of upperclassmen, NU couldn’t blame losses on personnel. Rather, the Cats have faltered this season as a result of lapses in focus and spotty execution. Mental errors late in close games against Minnesota was NU’s downfall.
“It just takes time for everything to mesh together,” NU head coach Keylor Chan said. “This weekend was really good for our team because we went into Minnesota and played them as well as we ever have. But it’s only a moral victory because we didn’t win the match”
The Cats dominated on both sides of the net in the second match of the weekend, defeating Iowa 3-0 (30-16, 30-19, 30-22). Defensively, NU held the Hawkeyes to a lowly .062 hitting percentage and 32 kills. Offensively, the Cats tallied 53 kills and had a hitting percentage of .308.
“We were a bit more disciplined on Saturday, ” junior Drew Roberston said. “We allowed ourselves to catch momentum and make some good runs.”
NU opened the match on fire, exhibiting solid team play. Sophomore Christie Gardner served 12 consecutive points and compiled four digs, while three other NU players had hitting percentages above .600 in the opening game.
The two teams traded short runs in the second game until the Cats broke through and scored the final thirteen points to take the game 30-19. After seeing sporadic playing time all season, freshman Lauren Greenwood was inserted once again to close out a game. The setter served the NU’s final five points.
The third game was a little closer, but the outcome was the same. After keeping the score tight for most of the game, the Cats went on a final run with Greenwood serving match point.
Of the three freshmen on NU’s roster, Greenwood has seen the most playing time off the bench so far this season. Chan said he likes to use Greenwood in certain situations because of her clutch serving and defensive skills.
“Getting her in is a very good change for us,” he said. “It gives (outside hitter) Jill Buschur time off defensively so she can focus on front row stuff.”
The Cats will need all of their weapons this weekend for pivotal home matches against Ohio State and No. 11 Penn State. Penn State currently sits atop the Big Ten standings, while Ohio State boasts one of the best outside hitters in the country.
“There’s still a lot of volleyball left to play,” Chan said. “Our girls should feel confident that if they come in, focus, and execute, we can pretty much play with any team in the nation.”
