The Northwestern volleyball team has had trouble keeping opposing attackers in check all season, and the problems continued Friday night when the team got swept again at home.
The Cats (6-9, 0-2 Big Ten) lost in three games (21-30, 17-30, 27-30) to No. 19 Illinois, extending the team’s losing streak to six matches.
Four Illini players recorded at least nine kills, while sophomore middle blocker Meghan Macdonald nailed 11 kills with only one failed attack attempt. Her .917 hitting percentage was the fourth highest in Illinois history.
“Most of our front row players are all freshmen, and they just haven’t had enough experience at this level to understand how to control a hitter,” Chan said. “It’s just a developmental process that we wish we could speed up, but that’s what we have.
“We have great young talent, but they need training. And you can only do so much in an eight-week span.”
The Illini (10-2, 2-1) set the tone early, hitting a blistering .536 in the first game, and it looked like the momentum would carry to the end when the team built a 28-22 lead in the third game.
But unlike previous matches, when the Cats would wilt late in games, the team began to chip away at Illinois’s lead.
The rally began with a kill by freshman Courtnie Paulus, who notched a team-high nine kills. The Cats’ faithful in Welsh-Ryan roared after a block by freshmen Lindsay Anderson and Brittney Aldridge pulled NU to within two at 29-27.
The run ended, however, when Illini outside hitter Jessica Belter drilled one of her team-leading 12 kills.
In scoring the final five of seven points, the Cats showed signs of life in what Chan called “a step in the right direction.”
“I’m not disappointed in the effort,” Chan said. “We did play hard, but we just weren’t the better team tonight.”
During the third game, NU actually posted a better attack percentage than Illinois while showing the kind of resolve they at times lacked.
“That was one good thing that came out of that game — we’re learning that it’s important to keep pushing,” said senior Leah Delcourt, who started for the first time this season.
Delcourt, who recently returned from a finger injury, sported a cast on her right hand as she anchored the middle of the Cats’ defense. She recorded four kills and a solo block.
Also back in the starting lineup was freshman outside hitter Anderson, who turned in a solid effort with eight kills and one block. She and Paulus, also a freshman outside hitter, combined for 17 kills and eight digs while sophomore Julie Purcell added seven kills.
The new lineup, however, could not solve all of the team’s problems. On more than one occasion, NU’s momentum evaporated on the heels of service errors — 11 total, including five in each of the first two games.
The team also lacked communication on defense. Several times, Illinois’ shots dropped in between NU defenders.
“You just go back and work on it,” Chan said. “We’ll just go out and train hard so we can fix the things that we struggled on tonight.”
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
Friday
ILL. 3
nU 0
