In an unlikely scene, the vocal Drew Robertson sat silently on the bench during the final timeout of the Michigan match Saturday.

Northwestern trailed 24-16 in the third game, and reality was slowly sinking in for the dejected senior co-captain — she was about to take the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the final time in her career.

“It came to mind that it was the last time I was going to be playing out there,” Robertson said. “I just want to win … so sometimes (when we don’t) I just don’t know what to do.”

Robertson did her part on Senior Night — she made several incredible sprawling digs that made the crowd gasp and finished with 34 assists and eight digs — but it wasn’t enough for the Wildcats to avoid the sweep (21-30, 26-30, 20-30).

NU also lost in three games at home to Michigan State on Friday (22-30, 24-30, 28-30).

After Saturday’s match, coach Keylor Chan expressed profound disappointment with his team’s performance, especially on a night in which the program bid farewell to Robertson and fifth-year senior Leah Delcourt.

“We had two seniors who I’ve been with for four, five years, so I hoped that they could go out on a good note,” Chan said. “And you know, we just didn’t get it done tonight.”

The match featured questionable officiating that had coaches on both benches riled up, but NU ultimately penned its own demise on poor execution.

The Cats (8-20, 3-15 Big Ten) hit only .098 percent while committing 27 attack errors to Michigan’s 11.

“It’s just the same stuff we’ve had all season,” Delcourt said. “Nothing specific went wrong, it’s just the same things — lack of communication and everything.”

The story was much the same during Friday’s match against Michigan State. The Spartans (12-14, 7-11) stymied the Cats with great defense — three players recorded at least 10 digs and the team recorded 10 blocks — while Kim Schram led all players with 17 kills.

On NU’s side, freshmen Courtnie Paulus and Lindsay Anderson combined for 21 kills, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the team’s 28 attack errors and 10 service errors.

The Cats then bottomed out the next night against Michigan (19-10, 9-9). Chan, who has talked all season about his young team’s maturation and improvement, said Saturday’s loss was “definitely a step backwards.”

“We need to learn how to play as a team and learn how to win, and that’s part of the process, too,” Chan said. “That’s something we really have to work on because losing at this level is unacceptable, period.”

Delcourt, who has been with Chan since he took over the program five years ago (she redshirted that year), said she wanted to concentrate on next weekend’s games.

But she also took time to reflect on her career, which has been filled with as many tribulations as triumphs.

Delcourt suffered an injury every season, ranging from a season-ending leg injury in 2002 to a broken finger that kept her sidelined for the start of this season.

“It hasn’t been what I’ve expected, but at the same time it definitely hasn’t been a disappointment,” she said. “It’s been nothing that I would ever regret.”

Delcourt, a two-year starter, said despite all the setbacks, she will probably walk away from volleyball with positive memories.

“I’m sure I’ll look back and be like, ‘I so wish I was playing,’ but that’s because I’m remembering all the good things,” she said.

“The seniors need to be proud of what they’ve accomplished — their portfolio at NU,” Chan said. “They’ve done an amazing thing — this program’s done amazing things since they’ve been here.

“I’m very proud of them, but tonight was not a fun night to end on, that’s for sure.”

NU plays at Indiana on Friday and at Purdue on Saturday to end its 2004 season.

Reach Anthony Tao at [email protected].