Her fourth assist of the night came off a typical set and kill: Northwestern volleyball player Drew Robertson extended her fingers and pushed the ball high over her head to the other side of the court where freshman Courtnie Paulus leapt and smashed it across the net.
But for the senior co-captain, that assist during Saturday’s match against Iowa (9-15, 1-11) was far from ordinary. It was the 4,744th of Robertson’s career, pushing her past Liz Renius as NU’s all-time assists leader.
The NU volleyball team (8-12, 3-9 Big Ten) won the match, 3-0, (30-23, 30-28, 30-16) as Robertson led the way with 49 assists and 12 digs. Freshman Lindsay Anderson also turned in a solid performance with 20 kills and a .366 hitting percentage.
Coach Keylor Chan said after the match he was “very happy,” because of the win and Robertson’s performance.
“Drew’s a special kid, and she just wants to win so bad,” Chan said. “She’s meant so much to me. I’m just happy that we won tonight on Homecoming for her.”
On Friday, the Cats lost at home to No. 2 Minnesota in three games (17-30, 17-30, 24-30). The Golden Gophers (21-2, 10-1) played at the top of their game, hitting an impressive .351 percent.
Minnesota dominated even though the Cats limited the Gophers’ senior all-America candidate, Erin Martin — who is second in the Big Ten in kills per game — to just seven kills.
NU’s Julie Purcell came off the bench to lead the team with 11 kills, but on a night when six NU players totaled more errors than kills, the Gophers were not to be undone.
“Minnesota played at a very high level, so I give them all the accolades they deserve,” Chan said. “They’re playing like a team on a mission right now, so they’re a very good team.”
The weekend, however, belonged to Robertson. When she eclipsed Renius’ assists record, Chan hopped off the bench and exclaimed, “Great set, Drew!” After the game, the senior was recognized by Welsh-Ryan Arena’s public address announcer for her accomplishment.
Robertson said she did not know how many assists she had entering the weekend.
“It’s like a feather in your cap, I guess, but I’d rather get to the NCAA tournament than break the assist record,” she said.
The second game of the Iowa match turned into the Drew and Lindsay show as the senior setter and freshman outside hitter hooked up nine times for kills.
With momentum on their side, the Cats made short work of the Hawkeyes in the third game to finish the sweep. Iowa kept the game close, but NU senior Leah Delcourt smashed the final point in a 30-28 win.
“We haven’t really done that in a while, and it definitely builds up our confidence. We were all very excited after that match. It was just a good feeling we’ve missed,” Anderson said.
Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].
NU (6-12, 3-9 Big Ten) vs. Wisconsin (15-5, 9-3)
When: Tonight, 7 p.m.
Where: Madison, Wis.
MINN 3
NU 0
IOWA 0
NU 3
