Nov. 8, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Seven weeks ago the Northwestern volleyball team opened up their Big Ten season by sweeping Michigan (3-0) and Michigan State (3-2) at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
It had been three years since the Wildcats (8-13, 4-8) swept a weekend of Big Ten action, and both the Wolverines and Spartans had previously owned 13-match win streaks against NU.
It was a great weekend for the 'Cats, but that was then, and now they must face these teams on the road.
History is not on NU's side-the last time NU won a game in East Lansing was 1992, and it has been 11 years since the Wildcats were last victorious in Ann Arbor.
In addition to the history, NU has not fared well on the road this season, going 1-6 as the visiting team.
"We need to match what we did to them at home," head coach Keylor Chan said.
The Wildcats are the target this weekend, having won earlier in the season. Chan expects that will heighten the intensity their rivals come to play with.
In this week's national statistics, sophomore Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg) is ranked 17th in blocking with a 1.53 per-game average. As a team, Northwestern is ranked 25th with a 2.92 blocks per game average.
Friday's match against Michigan State begins at 6 p.m. CST and can be heard via the internet at www.msuspartans.com. Saturday's Michigan match is slated for 7 p.m. CST.