While Northwestern hasn’t had the successful conference season it hoped for, the Wildcats look to several young players for future success. The three freshmen on the team – Chelsy Hyser, Anne Bitzegaio and Kelly Keporos – show considerable promise and, playing in a total of 23 games, have already started to make an impact.

The freshmen and the rest of the Cats will take on Indiana (8-10, 1-5 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.

Hyser, a middle blocker, has played in 18 games thus far and has a .289 attacking percentage, the fourth highest on the team.

NU coach Keylor Chan sees the brightest future for Hyser, noting she has quickly learned the ins and outs of college volleyball.

“Chelsy is a talented young woman with a lot of potential,” Chan said. “She has the chance to contribute a lot.”

Hyser chose NU because of team chemistry between coaches and players. She said she hopes to help the Cats make it to the NCAA tournament all four years and win a national championship somewhere along the line.

“I knew the program would grow,” Hyser said, referring to the young team she saw when she visited NU.

Hyser was ranked 54th in the nation by prepvolleyball.com and was a three-time all-conference selection in high school. She is interested in anatomy and biology and plans to complete the pre-med program.

“I just want to work hard every day in volleyball and in school,” Hyser said.

Although Bitzegaio doesn’t have the strongest background in club volleyball, Chan believes she will make an impact as a defensive specialist. Bitzegaio has played in three games thus far.

“Anne has worked hard to learn collegiate volleyball,” Chan said.

Bitzegaio chose NU because of its academic reputation and the opportunity to play Big Ten volleyball. She was a second-team all-state selection and led her high school team to the state finals as a senior.

“The Big Ten conference is probably the best volleyball conference in the country,” she said. “I want to make my game the best that it can be and find a balance between academics and athletics – succeed both on and off the court.”

Keporos is still recovering from an injury a year and a half ago, but she has still worked her way into two games.

“(Kelly) needs work but has good aptitude,” Chan said.

Like Bitzegaio, Keporos was impressed by the mix of academics and athletics at NU. She was a two-time all-conference selection but sat out her senior year due to injury. Keporos plans to pursue a career as a pediatrician.

“I want to achieve my highest potential and improve everyday.” she said.

Reach Annie Martin at [email protected]