In planning a nonconference schedule, the Northwestern volleyball coaches wanted to give their team as much big-game experience as possible before conference play.

But what they came up with bordered on the ridiculous.

To say NU (5-9, 0-4 Big Ten) has played a “difficult” schedule is a definite understatement. Of the team’s nine losses, six have been to top-25 teams, including non-conference opponents No. 8 Florida, No. 14 Stanford and No. 23 Long Beach State.

In the Big Ten — regarded as the premiere volleyball conference in the nation — the Wildcats have fallen to the likes of No. 6 Penn State, No. 9 Ohio State and No. 24 Illinois. And it was all in the name of improvement.

Coach Keylor Chan said he hopes the trying schedule has prepared his young team to play on the road. The Cats will take their seven freshmen — including four starters — to Iowa (9-7, 1-3) tonight at 7 p.m. for the team’s first Big Ten road match of the season.

“I don’t think (the women are anxious) — that was the whole point of playing such a hard schedule,” Chan said. “Hopefully that will pay dividends for us and we’ll come out and play well.

After the Hawkeyes, things won’t get easier when the team goes to No. 3 Minnesota (14-2, 3-1) the next evening. The Golden Gophers were the top-ranked team in the nation before losing at Ohio State last Friday.

Saturday’s match will pit the Cats against All-America candidate Erin Martin, whose 320 kills (5.25 kills per game) is topped by only one player in the Big Ten: Ohio State’s Stacey Gordon, who has 321 and leads the nation with 6.98 per game.

The Cats have had problems stopping hitters all season — Gordon, for instance, recorded 20 kills against NU on Sept. 25. It will take a tremendous defensive effort to slow down the Minnesota attack.

But even with the odds stacked against them, Chan said he believes his players are ready.

“I think they know what to expect,” Chan said. “They’re prepared as much as a young team can be from the schedule we played.”

Senior Leah Delcourt, who’s seen her share of Big Ten road games, said the weekend trip may be interesting because of how different the arenas are in Iowa and Minnesota.

In Iowa, the volleyball games are played in Carver-Hawkeye Arena — shared by, among others, the men’s basketball team. “It’s like a huge bowl, and we’re the tiny pebbles at the bottom,” Delcourt said. “It’s ridiculous.”

In Minnesota, on the other hand, the games are played in the Sports Pavilion, a gym designed specifically for volleyball, women’s basketball and gymnastics. In such an intimate setting, fans are close to the action, which can be intimidating for players inexperienced with hostile settings.

“It can be a little daunting (for freshmen),” senior co-captain Drew Robertson said. “But it fires you up a little to have all that loudness and the crowd and all those people there.”

Robertson, who has three years of Big Ten road games under her belt, said she believes this year’s Cats are ready for the experience.

“I think that they’ve been well-prepared to get on the road and get some games in, so I think they’ll be fine,” she said.

If nothing else, the weekend trip will provide a much-needed change of scenery. The Cats have dropped their previous six matches — 18 total games — at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

“I think it’s good because we can minimize some distractions the girls may have and get them really focused,” Chan said. “Anytime you go on a road trip, it’s kind of a bonding experience, and I think all those things are necessary with a young team.”

Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].