Eight days separated Northwestern’s loss to Michigan State and its five-set victory to the same team.
The Wildcats (8-8, 2-4 Big Ten) took down the Spartans (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) Saturday in East Lansing, backed by graduate outside hitter Julia Sangiacomo’s 32 kills.
Set one began with the teams trading points. With the set tied at 16, a 3-0 run from Michigan State brought the Spartans within reach of their 25-22 victory.
But, the 3-0 scoring run belonged to NU in set two, led by junior libero Ellee Stinson’s two aces. The ‘Cats stayed ahead of Michigan State for the rest of the set, winning in dominant fashion 25-16.
Set three remained close until a 4-0 run by NU halfway through. Four of sophomore outside hitter Averie Hernandez’s career-high 17 kills helped the ‘Cats prevent the Spartans from rallying as NU took the set 25-20.
Michigan State got off to an early lead in set four, but errors and several Hernandez and Sangiacomo kills brought the ‘Cats back into the running. With a match point of 24-23, NU looked ready to take a four-set victory. However, the home team came back to force a fifth set.
Guided by senior setter Alexa Rousseau, the ‘Cats started set five with the lead. The Spartans rallied to tie the score at six, but NU couldn’t be quieted for long. The ‘Cats won the set 15-10 and the match 3-2.
However, the weekend didn’t start off as strongly. NU fell to Michigan (3-12, 1-5 Big Ten) in four tight sets Friday in Ann Arbor.
The first set remained close as the ‘Cats were tested by Wolverines outside hitter Valentina Vaulet’s powerful serves. After she recorded four aces during the set — she recorded six total in the match — Michigan won the set 25-23.
The second set started slowly for NU, as it found itself behind 6-2. But service and attack errors from the Wolverines, kills from Sangiacomo and three ‘Cats blocks soon tied the score at 11. With the score tight until the end, Rousseau ended set two with an ace, 26-24.
NU had its strongest start of the night at the beginning of the third set. The score remained close, with short runs by each team. The ‘Cats offense was punctuated by powerful kills from Sangiacomo, Hernandez and sophomore middle blocker Kennedy Hill, but Michigan soon pulled ahead, winning 25-23.
Things quickly unraveled in the fourth set as NU was stymied by the Wolverines 6-0 start. Though they clawed their way back and tied the set at seven, Michigan soon went on a four point scoring run. The Wolverines ultimately emerged victorious, 25-20, recording their first Big Ten win of the season.
The ‘Cats will be back in action against Maryland on Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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