Nov. 1, 2003
COLUMBUS, Ohio - At first it looked like jet lag would hold back the Northwestern volleyball team from managing a split this weekend, but after a rocky first game the Wildcats came together and took a momentous win at Ohio State in four (21-30, 30-20, 34-32, 30-26). Previously, Northwestern had not won at Ohio State since Sept. 22, 1984.
"I am very happy to see how we bounced back," said head coach Keylor Chan. "This team knows how hard it is to win on the road, and splitting with Penn State and Ohio State on the road is a solid weekend for us."
The Wildcats struggled in game one, being held to a .051 hitting percentage and giving up five service errors to the Buckeyes. Ohio State quickly took over the game, up 16-9 early thanks to Stacy Gordon killing five of 10. The Buckeyes took game one 30-21 with only two NU players hitting over .100.
Northwestern responded in game two, pulling ahead at 6-5 and never looking back. The 'Cats improved their attack percent to .448 with Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) going 4-8, and Ohio native Jill Buschur (New Bremen, Ohio/New Bremen) hitting four of seven. NU took the second game 30-20 to even the match at one.
The teams battled in the third, evident by the five game points served. Each team held an early lead with OSU holding a three-point advantage at 20-17. Northwestern battled back to tie it at 25 with freshman Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) serving. The Wildcats forced the first game point, ahead 29-28, but it took 34 points to drop the Buckeyes. Buschur killed the last two points for Northwestern for the win. Lange was leading the 'Cats through the first three, hitting at .455 in the match at that point.
The decisive game four was a thriller for the fans in Columbus with both teams unable to put together scoring streaks until late. Tied at 18, Ohio State went on a three-point run before Chan called timeout to gather his team. Northwestern responded, rebounded and never looked back. The Buckeyes brought it within two at 27-25, but the Wildcats brought home a win with an Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland, Tarnobrzeg) kill off of an OSU serve. NU took game four 30-26.
Lange ended the match hitting 18 of 32 for .438 with one solo block and four block assists. Setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly) added 56 assists and a team-leading 12 digs in the win. After a tough Friday night match, Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) ended the night with 10 kills and five digs. Leah Delcourt (Rock Island, Ill./Rock Island) sparked the 'Cats with 2 solo blocks, five block assists, and hitting .250.
"Christie played well after the Penn State loss and Leah gave a lot in this match, which helped the entire team's outlook on things," said Chan. "They were big factors tonight."
Northwestern held the advantage in total team blocks (14-12), overall hitting percentage (.273-.224), kills (68-62) and set assists (63-59). While OSU's Stacy Gordon ended the night with a .324 hitting percentage against the 'Cats, Northwestern held her to just one point on the serve.
With the road split, the Wildcats are now 14-10, 5-7 and return home to host Iowa and Minnesota next weekend at Welsh-Ryan Arena.