Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

Northwestern University and Evanston's Only Daily News Source Since 1881

The Daily Northwestern

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Volleyball: Wildcats’ losing streak grows to seven games

After jumping out to an early four-point lead, it was safe to say that the Wildcats were trouncing the Purdue Boilermakers. The Cats went on to dominate the entire first game and won by a healthy eight-point margin. Yet, after the first game, Northwestern was only able to win one of its next seven sets and dropped two consecutive matches over the weekend.

On Friday, the Wildcats (10-9, 1-7 Big Ten) fell at Purdue (12-7, 5-3 Big Ten), 3-1. And then on Saturday, the Cats proceeded to lose the match at Indiana (13-7, 4-4 Big Ten) by the same margin, 3-1. Northwestern has now dropped even straight, all of which have been against Big Ten opponents.

“We played some really good matches (this weekend),” said senior outside hitter Courtnie Paulus. “The Big Ten is tough from top to bottom. Any away match is going to be tough.”

Looking for its first victory since an upset win against Ohio State on Sept. 21, NU opened strong against Purdue – gathering a series of personal accomplishments along the way.

Junior middle blocker Chelsy Hyser had two consecutive serving aces for points five and six.

Senior outside hitter Lindsay Anderson had six points in the first game, the first of which moved the veteran into eighth place on Northwestern’s all time career kills list.

Paulus moved up in the history books as well. With a kill in the second game and the match knotted at 19, Paulus gave NU the lead and moved into 16th place at NU with 1,060 career kills. She finished the game with a .667 hitting percentage.

To the dismay of the Wildcats, the rest of the team did not perform as well. Purdue rallied to take the close second game, 30-28. Not looking back, the Boilermakers won the following two games by a combined 14 points.

“We really need to compete our hardest during the matches,” said senior middle blocker Brittney Aldridge. “Bringing it in practice just isn’t enough anymore.”

The match against the Indiana Hoosiers did not have as promising a start for the Cats. NU dropped each of the first two games by four points before rebounding to win by eight to claim the third set. The come back was short-lived as the Hoosiers won the decisive fourth game, 30-27.

Aldridge had a career day Saturday, hitting with a .400 percentage and compiling a personal best 17 kills.

The Cats remained competitive for the entirety of the match. The first game remained tight until Indiana went on 8-3 run to pull away. NU began the second game on a 6-2 tear, but the Hoosiers rebounded and won a consecutive close match. The least contested game, the third, was the only one that resulted in a Wildcats’ win.

The Cats’ inability to pull away when the score was close cost them over the weekend. It has been a continual thorn in the collective of the Wildcats side during the 2007 season.

“We need to learn to clean up during the last 10 points,” Paulus said.

Aldridge feels confident that the team will be able to rebound and improve upon their play during the latter half of the season.

“The minute we start clicking, we’re going to start winning,” she said. “I had the best feeling about the team (this past weekend) that I’ve had in a while.”

Reach Jimmy Mitchell at [email protected].

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Volleyball: Wildcats’ losing streak grows to seven games