By Pritish BehuriaThe Daily Northwestern
It was a tale of two completely different performances for the Cats this weekend.
Starting with an inspired comeback in a nail-biting five-game thriller and ending with a three-game shutout, the Cats found the same result – a pair of losses.
Prospects always looked bleak despite the Cats’ soaring confidence following a string of victories going into this weekend facing No. 10 Wisconsin and No. 13 Minnesota. A 3-2 loss against Wisconsin left the Cats looking exhausted in their 3-0 shutout against Minnesota the following night.
“Yesterday (against Wisconsin) showed how well we could play when we played well as a team,” junior Lindsay Anderson said. “Tonight (against Minnesota) was what happens when we don’t play as a team.”
The first game against the Badgers saw the Cats run up an early 18-14 lead before Wisconsin dominated the rest of the game on the way to a 16-5 run, propelled by eight kills.
The Badgers never looked to be in danger of losing their lead in the second game and controlled it, eventually winning out 30-19.
Halftime saw momentum change hands.
“We went down in the beginning and we came out played harder and were more focused,” sophomore Chelsy Hyser, who had her first career double-double said. “We competed at a really high level, and it was cool to see us come back like that.”
Tied at 12-12 in the third game, the Cats went on an 8-2 run to seize control of the game. The Badgers clawed their way to within one point at 25-24, but the Cats responded with five straight kills to clinch the game.
In the fourth game, Wisconsin took an early lead at 22-17, but the Cats managed to get back into the game at 24-24. It remained close from then on before the Cats were able to find that little bit extra to take the match to a final game.
In the deciding game, the Cats went up 11-10, but the Badgers kept their composure and ran out winners on a final 5-2 run.
“It’s the way the ball bounces,” coach Keylor Chan said. “It can go down to luck in a tight game like that and balls can deflect the right way or the wrong way sometimes.”
The Cats were dominated Saturday night against a Minnesota team that went up to second in the Big Ten table.
“Momentum slipped away from us early on,” Chan said. “We missed some one-on-one opportunities and didn’t convert our chances against a very good team.”
The Gophers dominated the final two games of the match, and at one point in the second game, they led by 20 points.
Chan said ball-control, blocking and defense failed them on Saturday. He also said the Cats were a team built on their defense, and when it didn’t come through for them, it was hard for the team to compete.
The Cats had 90 errors over the weekend, including 22 service errors in the match on Friday.
“We’re lacking consistency in our performance and our attitude right now,” Chan said. “That’s why we’re 7-9 right with big games ahead.”
Reach Pritish Behuria at [email protected]
