Before the Wildcats fell in four games at No. 25 Illinois on Saturday, several members of the Northwestern volleyball team suffered a more costly loss.

Minutes before they took the court against the Fighting Illini, Cats players returned to the visiting locker room after pre-game warm-ups and discovered they were missing personal items, including wallets, cell phones, a camera, an MP3 player and a laptop computer.

According to the University of Illinois Police Department, $3,378 worth of cash and belongings were stolen from NU’s locker room in the basement of Illinois’ Huff Hall. The police report said a witness saw two men, about 5 foot 8 and 5 foot 10, rifling through wallets and discarding items in the trash can in the men’s restroom. The only victims were NU volleyball players and a team trainer.

“It really is just a knock on the Big Ten, because you think every team should be safe traveling with all their stuff,” said junior Christie Gardner, who lost her wallet, cell phone and MP3 player. “I just hope they find who did it and hopefully get some of our stuff back.”

Players said they saw two security guards standing by the locker room before heading out to warm-ups. But when players came back, they noticed the missing belongings. The team quickly notified facility representatives, who reported the incident to the police.

The Cats then took the court to compete in front of a crowd of 2,260. During the national anthem, freshman Stephanie Jurivich, who lost a $1,800 laptop that contained all her schoolwork, struggled to hold back tears.

“People thought that I was crying because of the national anthem, but it wasn’t that,” Jurivich said.

Once the game started, however, the players came together and turned in a strong performance before a national television audience. Despite losing in four games (30-23, 23-30, 27-30, 27-30), coach Keylor Chan said “it might have been the best match we’ve played all year.”

Chan said the pre-game incident may have had a positive effect on the team because it rallied everyone together.

“I thought they didn’t worry about the little things anymore and they just went out and played volleyball, which was very nice to see,” Chan said. “I was very proud of the way they handled themselves.”

Freshman Lindsay Anderson, who had her wallet and cell phone taken, recorded eight of her match-leading 21 kills in the opening frame.

Meanwhile, Jurivich said she channeled her anger — she hammered the ball all night en route to 17 kills and a .382 hitting percentage.

In taking the first game, NU (8-16, 3-11 Big Ten) recorded a .500 hitting percentage, committing only two attack errors. Illinois (17-6, 9-5), however, rebounded and won the next game 30-23 behind a reenergized defensive effort.

The Illini led 27-22 in the third game before NU went on a 5-1 run to pull within one at 28-27. But errors from Anderson and freshman Courtnie Paulus gave Illinois the 30-27 win.

In the fourth game, the Illini once again built a late lead but had to scramble to hold on. At 28-23, the Cats rallied to take the next four points before two attack errors by Anderson — only her third and fourth of the night — gave Illinois another three-point victory.

Senior co-captain Drew Robertson led all players with 58 assists. She added 10 digs and was just two kills shy of recording her second triple-double of the season.

But after the match players’ thoughts turned to their missing possessions. Jurivich said if nothing else, she would like Illinois officials to formally apologize to the team.

“They’re trying to keep it on the down low, which isn’t good,” she said. “By not saying anything, they’re not recognizing that something happened, so it could happen again.”

Chan said Illinois coach Don Hardin apologized to him about the incident after the match, but neither school has issued anything formal.

“Basically, it’s in the authorities’ hands now,” Chan said.

Illinois Assistant Athletic Director Kent Brown was not available for comment.

Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].