Entering Big Ten play with a 9-1 overall record and high expectations, the Wildcats dropped their first two conference matches to Iowa on Friday and No. 5 Minnesota on Saturday. Northwestern was unable to push either opponent past three games, a disappointment after its best season opening in 18 years.
“Iowa was definitely a surprise,” senior libero Christie Gardner said. “They played very well, but we should beat a team like Iowa. Minnesota is a great team, but we definitely have the ability to beat them too. Both (losses) are disappointing, a loss is always disappointing, but hopefully, we can win our next two games.
“The Big Ten is a great conference. (In the Big Ten) it’s going to be a great match no matter what. There are no bad teams. But we played some big teams in pre season too and won those.”
The Cats got off to a slow start against Iowa (10-4, 1-1 Big Ten), allowing a 5-1 lead. NU never came closer than within two points of Iowa the rest of the way. The Cats totaled 21 digs, but no NU player recorded more than four kills.
NU picked up its speed in game two, and defense was greatly improved over the first game. The score remained close until Iowa burst a 23-23 tie and led 27-23, winning the game 30-24. The Cats committed four serving errors and seven hitting errors during game two, the highest of the match.
In the third game, the Cats kept the score close, committing fewer errors than in the previous games. NU led the game by three points – its biggest lead of the night at 21-18 – but Iowa reversed the setback to win the game 30-26. The Cats recorded 20 kills and 18 assists and improved to a .295 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Lindsay Anderson ended with 15 kills and sophomore Brittney Aldridge, junior Cassie McLaughlin and junior Julie Purcell each executed 11 kills.
“I just don’t think we played like we usually play, like we played all preseason,” McLaughlin said of the Iowa match. “It was pretty disappointing to see the way we let little things go wrong, like we never do.”
Gardner agreed the Iowa match wasn’t the Cats’ finest hour.
“It was one of those games where nothing went our way,” Gardner said. “We were trying but we weren’t executing.”
Similar to the previous night, the Cats started slow against Minnesota (11-2, 1-1). Minnesota raced to a 12-5 lead, prompting an NU timeout. The Cats played more cohesively after the break, closing the gap 12-9, before trailing again 21-14. NU lost 30-20 with a .056 hitting percentage for the game. Throughout the game, the Cats struggled with blocking as well.
The Cats fell behind early again in the second game. Down 8-3, NU called a timeout, and the Cats’ speed and blocking improved. But the defense continued to struggle, as the Cats allowed Minnesota five aces, and both sides suffered numerous serving errors. However, the Cats improved their hitting percentage to .129 and recorded 16 kills.
The Cats struggled with serve receive – passing an opponent’s serve – again in the third game, trailing by up to eight points (27-19). Nine hitting errors also caused problems for the Cats. Once again, NU fell 30-22.
“Minnesota plays a bigger, stronger, more competitive game (than Iowa),” Gardner said. “I feel like we fought. We didn’t just lay down and die. Against Iowa, there wasn’t really fight in us.”
While the Minnesota match wasn’t as close as the Iowa match, NU coach Keylor Chan agreed Saturday’s performance was an improvement over the previous night. Chan emphasized the need to build up individual skills to supplement the team chemistry and the importance of winning the upcoming match against Illinois.
“We didn’t execute our skills very well this weekend but we did play as a team (against Minnesota),” Chan said. “Even though we didn’t get the outcome we wanted, there was good communication and people were talking. (Minnesota is) a very, very, good team. (It is) one of the top teams for a reason. We just have to continue to work hard at our skills and practice hard and get better everyday.”
Reach Annie Martin at [email protected].
