Nov. 16, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern's volleyball team performed better than it had in weeks, but it wasn't enough to snap a losing streak as they fell, 3-1 (30-28, 27-30, 30-24, 30-27), to Minnesota at Welsh-Ryan Arena Friday night.
NU (8-16, 4-13 Big Ten) kept after the Golden Gophers (18-9, 10-7), outhitting them in games one and two, but once again failed to come through in clutch situations to pull out the victory.
In Game One NU took the lead at 14-13, and the game went point-for-point until the end. Things looked good for the 'Cats when they led 28-27, but back-to-back kills by Minnesota's Stephanie Hagen and Kathy Tilson and an attack error by Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) gave the Gophers the victory.
Game Two also went back and forth until the 'Cats broke open with a 27-23 lead behind the service of Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly). A dramatic block by Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill.) and Meyer secured game point for NU.
Minnesota came out after the break and quickly took a 12-3 advantage. NU staged a comeback to 21-18, but couldn't hold on. The Gophers took that momentum into Game Four and got it off to a quick start. The Wildcats would not give in, battling back to within two at game point, but crucial errors in attacking ended up costing NU the game and the match.
Lange had an "on" night, hitting 13 kills at a .556 clip and blocking seven attempts. The sophomore is now three blocks shy of a career total of 300 and should reach the milestone in Saturday night's match.
Freshman setter Robertson put together 42 assists, nine digs, three service aces and five block assists. Junior middle blocker Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita) had a match-high 15 kills.
Northwestern hosts Iowa tomorrow night at 7 p.m. for the final match of the 2001 season in Welsh-Ryan Arena.