It will be another Big Ten weekend on the road for the Wildcats, and with that comes another pair of stern tests.
Northwestern (9-7, 1-3 Big Ten) is set to face Indiana (8-7, 0-4) Friday night and No. 20 Purdue (10-5, 1-3) the following evening.
If there’s ever such a thing as a reprieve in this conference, this is it. The Cats only have to take on one ranked squad, and that one has a “lowly” mark of 20. The Hoosiers have dropped six consecutive matches, including their first four in the Big Ten, so that one should be easy, right?
Well, Indiana did take then-No. 12 Ohio State to five sets in its last match, falling in the final stanza by an agonizing 17-15 tally. Maybe the victories haven’t been floating in much of late in Bloomington, but NU coach Keylor Chan is not taking the Hoosiers lightly.
“Indiana’s different,” Chan said. “They’re very young, they have a transfer in, they have a redshirt senior who (was on medical leave) last year, and is back that we haven’t seen in a couple of years in Jordan Haverly. They had a great showing against Ohio State, so they’re feeling like they can come out and play. They’ve figured a lot of things out, so that’s going to be a challenge.”
The Cats aren’t exactly coming off of their cleanest performances of the year. Last weekend, NU took on top-20 foes in Michigan and Michigan State and, after winning its opening set against the Wolverines, didn’t prove victorious the rest of the weekend.
Both squads gave the Cats massive headaches with their blocking, stifling NU’s offensive output. The numbers in the Michigan game weren’t too bad: 48 kills in four sets, a 12.0 average — only a point below the season average. However, the kill rate was .161, well below the Cats’ normal .237 rate.
The same could not be said against the Spartans. NU hit at .082, amassing a mere 23 kills across three sets. Star outside hitter Stephanie Holthus attacked at a negative rate, with just five kills and seven errors in the contest.
Previously, though, Chan suggested the team’s passing was the part not up to par. It’s been a focus in practice this week as the Cats look to rebound.
Junior outside hitter Monica McGreal certainly agrees passing has been a point of emphasis and expects a pair of battles this weekend.
“We’ve just been focusing on giving our setter good passes so we can get good looks on the block and good looks for our hitters,” McGreal said. “Going on the road’s always tough. I don’t think there’s anything in particular about either team, we’ve just got to go out and get the job done.”
Of course, it will help that the Cats will not be competing against squads quite as formidable as Michigan and Michigan State.
Purdue is no slouch though, and Indiana remains dangerous despite a significant losing skid.
For middle blocker Maggie Burnham, a couple of victories this weekend is exactly the lift the team needs.
“That would give us a huge confidence boost as we are coming off two losses last weekend,” the redshirt sophomore said. “A pair of wins would just get us back on the right track going into a pair of tough competitors the following week but right now it’s just Indiana and Purdue. That’s all we’re focused on.”
As for the specter of falling to 1-5 in conference play with another pair of losses, Chan is not focused on potential records.
“There’s always a sense of urgency,” Chan said. “The Big Ten’s hard. You’re not going to catch your breath, so how you catch your breath is by going out and executing, performing, putting everything you’ve got out there. If you do that you’ll come away with a result you’ll be proud of.”
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