Nov. 29, 2001
EVANSTON, Ill. - The best since...
Those three words can be used to describe so much with relation to the 2001 Northwestern volleyball team.
An eighth-place finish in the Big Ten Conference, the best since 1991. Ten overall victories, the best since 1998. Six conference victories, the best since 1993. Not bad for a team picked to finish last in the Preseason Big Ten Coaches' Poll.
"We continue to make positive strides," head coach Keylor Chan said of his second season at NU. "We are pretty confident going into the Big Ten next year."
The Wildcats will also have one of the best groups of returning players in the conference. Every other school in the league loses top players to graduation.
Among those returning for a few more seasons are sophomore middle blocker Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Sandburg), who was named honorable mention All-Big Ten for 2001. Lange is the first NU player to receive all-conference honors since 1993.
Freshman setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) was also recognized by the Big Ten with a nod to the All-Freshman Team.
The season started in North Carolina at the Wake Forest Deacon Invitational. NU defeated East Carolina and Mississippi State before falling to host Wake Forest for second place in the tournament. Molly Kamp (Stevensville, Mich./Lakeshore) recorded a pair of double-doubles and was named to the all-tournament team, as was Robertson.
The next tournament was the Nike Pacific Challenge. Following a warm welcome at the home of Adriana Ruhl's (Stockton, Calif./Lincoln) family, NU dropped in four to Connecticut. The following day they defeated George Washington but then were shut out by the first nationally ranked opponent of the season, No. 8 Pacific.
After Labor Day the Wildcats prepared to host their own tournament, but then tragedy struck the nation on Sept. 11. Northwestern postponed all sporting events for the weekend of Sept. 14-15, and the annual Wildcat Classic was cancelled.
The turn of events led NU to open both its home season and Big Ten Conference play on the same night, Sept. 21. Michigan came to Evanston, and the 'Cats defeated the Wolverines in five games. Sarah Ballog (Coto de Caza, Calif./Santa Margarita) played a key role in the win with a team-high 16 kills, six blocks and a .480 hitting percentage. The next night NU swept Michigan State in three, marking the first time the 'Cats had swept a Big Ten weekend at home since 1994.
"We beat both Michigan and Michigan State," Chan said. "Two teams that ended up finishing just ahead of us in the Big Ten. We're right there."
The Wildcats took their momentum on the road the following weekend, losing to Illinois but defeating Indiana. They returned to Welsh-Ryan Arena to find themselves rained out. Literally.
Heavy rains in August had caused the arena to flood, ruining the brand new hardwood floor that had been installed in May. Though home matches at NU are played on a SportCourt above the surface, the repairs to the hardwood had to be made before basketball season. This forced the volleyball team to the McGaw Fieldhouse behind the arena for the month of October. Temporary bleachers were brought in for matches, but the 'Cats went 1-3 while playing in the fieldhouse.
Those three losses came to three nationally ranked Big Ten teams-No. 11 Ohio State, No. 10 Penn State, and No. 6 Wisconsin. NU defeated Purdue in four to end their stay in the fieldhouse.
On Oct. 16 the Wildcats traveled to neighboring Loyola-Chicago to make up a match that was to be played on Sept. 11. The four-game win bolstered NU's statistics, as they hit a season-high 21 blocks. Erika Lange tied her own school record for total blocks with 14. Kelli Meyer (Madison, Wis./Edgewood) also had a career night. The starting setter for the past two years, Meyer was moved to the right side in 2001 and recorded a triple-double against the Ramblers. She had 16 kills, 10 assists and 19 digs. With eight block assists, she was just two shy of a quadruple-double.
After the win at Loyola, the 'Cats sported an 8-7 record. Then the young team experienced growing pains, falling into a nine-match losing streak, that finally ended with a 3-1 victory over Iowa at home on Nov. 17.
"Even the slump was part of the process," Chan said as he reflected on the season. "But we got out of it, which is something this program has never been able to do."
The Wildcats were on the rise at the end of the of the season. Following the victory over Iowa, they traveled to Madison to face No. 6 Wisconsin. Though they lost in three, NU's tenacity on the court kept the match close.
NU finished the season on the road at Purdue. The five-game match, which lasted two hours and 28 minutes, was the longest Big Ten match in 2001. Meyer had a season- and career-high 21 kills, 10 digs and five blocks. Three other 'Cats hit in double-digits, including Lange who hit 18 kills at a .429 clip.
"Erika and Sarah kept us consistent this season. They are two of the best middles in the conference," Chan said of his 6'3" and 6'1" blockers.
Lange and Ballog are the primary reason NU finished tied for first in the Big Ten regular-season blocking statistics with 3.03 blocks per game. Lange led the individual conference statistics and finished ninth in the nation with a 1.62 average. Ballog was sixth in the Big Ten with 1.20. As a team, Northwestern outblocked its opponents in 20 of 27 matches this season and finished 17th in the nation. In three other matches, blocking totals were tied.
Another high-ranking statistic for the Wildcats this season came from service aces. Junior Cassie McKnight (San Marcos, Calif./San Marcos) led the team with 41, and tied for fourth in the Big Ten with a 0.48 per-game average. As a team, NU finished fourth in the conference with a 1.67 average.
Individually, Lange also led the team in kills per game (2.92) and hitting percentage (.282). Robertson was tops in assists (9.77) and digs (2.41). Robertson made quite an impression in her inaugural season, as her athleticism had her playing all over the court and her attitude described as the "emotional sparkplug" by the coaching staff.
Several changes were made to the Northwestern record book as a result of performances this season.
Though only a sophomore, Lange has already left her mark. In single season records, she is third in hitting percentage with .282, fourth in total blocks with 157, and her block assists total of 132 is second only to her 2000 total of 146. In career records Lange currently holds the top spot for hitting percentage with .268 over the past two seasons. Her 3.22 kills-per-game average is third, her 278 block assists fifth and she is seventh in total blocks with 319. While the career averages are subject to change, her blocking numbers can only rise in the next two years.
Ballog also cracked the top 10 in a number of NU records. Her hitting percentage of .265 ties her in seventh place and her 107 block assists ties her for eighth in single season records. The junior is also right behind Lange for sixth place in career block assists with 274, and eighth in total blocks with 305.
As the backup setter, Meyer only recorded 112 assists in 2001, but that was enough to move her to fourth place in career assists with 2,408.
One Wildcat who didn't get the chance to improve her career statistics this season was sophomore hitter Lindsay Pavlik (Laguna Beach, Calif./Mater Dei). Pavlik underwent a fibula-tibia fusion surgery in the off season and was slowed in her recovery by an infection. A medical redshirt is a possibility.
"It would have been nice to have her this year," Chan said of Pavlik. As a freshman, she started almost every match and recorded eight double-doubles.
Taking the season as a whole, "I'm disappointed in the result, but not the process," Chan said. "We have the talent to make the NCAA Tournament."
Five teams from the Big Ten were selected to this season's NCAA Tournament, but the Wildcats were not among them. Though it was a goal for this season, Chan already has next season's goal in mind.
"Now we work extremely hard to get to the next step," he said. "We can be in the top five of the Big Ten."