After defeating Illinois on November 8, Keylor Chan predicted that the Wildcats would need to win at least four of their last six matches in order to make the NCAA tournament. He also said even winning four might not be enough.
With two big wins over the weekend – including their second win over a ranked team in two weeks – the Wildcats are closer to a NCAA tournament berth but must win at least two of their last four matches in order to be reasonably assured a spot.
Winning their fourth straight match gave Northwestern its longest Big Ten winning streak since 1988.
The Cats defeated No. 17 Minnesota (20-6, 10-5 Big Ten) on Friday and Iowa (21-6, 10-6 Big Ten) on Saturday to maintain their sixth place tie in the conference. The Cats are now 16-10, 7-9 in the Big Ten.
“If we can beat teams like Purdue and Minnesota, we can beat anyone in the Big Ten,” senior libero Christie Gardner said. “Every individual player did their job and came together as a team (against Minnesota).”
Gardner was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week for the second consecutive week and the third time this season.
The Cats came out strong in the first two games against Minnesota. According to Gardner, NU “dominated” and “executed perfectly.” The Cats then lost games three and four. Coach Keylor Chan said errors hurt both teams in those two games. NU had 12 attack errors in the fourth game alone.
Minnesota led 6-1 at the start of the fifth game, but the Cats bounced back with a 9-2 run and won 15-12.
“It’s a great win for us. We needed it really bad,” said freshman middle blocker Chelsy Hyser, who led the team with 20 kills. “I feel like we can go undefeated the rest of the season.”
Chan felt the Cats’ playing was “up and down” during the match.
“We let some situations get out of hand in the games we lost,” Chan said. “We didn’t control certain attackers as well as last weekend.”
The Cats did allow Minnesota 70 kills during the match but made up for it with 74 of their own.
Despite spotty playing in the third and fourth games, Chan compared his team to “lightning in a bottle” following the Minnesota match.
“We were able to take Minnesota out of what it likes to do which is the mark of a good team,” Chan said.
NU kept its momentum and swept Iowa in three games on Saturday. The last time the Cats played Iowa, they lost in three games.
“We got the job done right away,” sophomore middle blocker Brittney Aldridge said. “If you beat Minnesota, you feel like you have to beat the other teams they beat.”
Gardner broke the single-match record for the second time with 37 digs. Each of the games started very close, but a few successful runs allowed the Cats to win. Even in the third game, the closest of the match, NU won by seven points.
Both Aldridge and junior setter Lauren Greenwood said the Cats must maintain their concentration in order to continue their success.
“We need to remain focused and consistent and just keep playing the way we are playing right now because we are playing great ball,” Greenwood said.
According to Chan, the Cats’ dramatic improvement and winning streak at the end of the season will improve their chances of selection for the NCAA tournament.
“I’d be shocked if we didn’t make it if we continue to play this well,” Chan said.
Annie Martin can be reached at [email protected].
