By Andrew SimonThe Daily Northwestern
Northwestern won back-to-back Big Ten matches for only the second time this season, also getting some revenge against an in-state rival along the way Wednesday night.
After suffering a sweep on its home floor against Illinois Sept. 27, NU (12-10, 6-7 Big Ten) was looking to return the favor on its opponent’s court. And the Wildcats did just that, defeating the Illini (13-10, 4-9) in four games (30-25, 25-30, 30-26, 30-27) in Champaign, Ill.
“Any time you lose to a team you know you can definitely beat, you feel like you need to prove something to yourselves and to them,” said junior outside hitter Courtnie Paulus, who was second on the Cats with 13 kills.
Lindsay Anderson led the way with 21 kills, including the 1,000th of her career, and added eight digs.
“It was very exciting to get (the 1,000th kill), especially because it came in a very important win,” Anderson said.
NU now stands within one victory of an even conference record, which would strongly support its case for making the NCAA tournament. And after consecutive victories, the Cats have a chance to finish their conference season on a roll.
“Every match is significant now,” coach Keylor Chan said. “The (NCAA Tournament) committee looks closely at the last 10 matches, so those are really key.”
Although NU defeated Illinois in four games, each was close and both teams enjoyed several sustained runs of success.
This was particularly true during the final game, in which both squads had two major streaks. The last of these runs came when Illinois surged back from a 25-17 deficit to pull within two. But after Chan called a timeout, NU recovered and pulled out a 30-27 win.
“Especially with rally scoring, volleyball is such a momentum game,” Anderson said. “A lot of energy carries over from point to point.”
The Cats played like two different teams in the first two games. After winning game one behind a stellar .444 hitting percentage, NU hit only .088 in a game two loss.
“It’s all about serving and passing,” Chan said. “When you can’t serve and pass, you’re not going to get good sets. And when you can’t get good sets, you aren’t going to get good swings at the ball.”
NU came out hot after halftime – jumping to an 8-1 lead. Yet momentum proved to be fickle yet again, as Illinois raced back to even the contest at 19 before NU pulled away.
With only seven Big Ten matches remaining, the Cats have little time to solidify their position in the postseason.
“It all depends on how we keep playing,” Anderson said. “If we keep playing like we have the last two matches, we have a great shot.”
Reach Andrew Simon at [email protected].
