Nov. 18, 2003
Purdue/Indiana Games Notes
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After getting a split last week, the Northwestern volleyball team (17-11 overall, 8-8 Big Ten) is eager to string some wins together and break past .500 in the Big Ten when it faces Purdue Friday in West Lafayette, Ind., and Indiana Saturday in Bloomington, Ind.
In midweek action, the Wildcats lost in three games to then-No. 25 Illinois in Champaign, Ill. last Wednesday, but NU was able to bounce back when it upset then-No. 23 Wisconsin 3-1 Friday at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The victory marked just the second win over a ranked opponent for Northwestern this season.
Senior middle blocker Erika Lange (Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg) totaled 30 kills,12 blocks and two service aces, as well as a .389 attack percentage, in those two games. The All-America candidate is listed in the Big Ten as third in hitting percentage (.358/game), seventh in kills (4.05/game) and third in blocks (1.33/game).
Also performing well last week was senior outside hitter Iwona Lodzik (Tarnobrzeg, Poland/Tarnobrzeg), who racked up 25 kills, 23 digs and four service aces, and junior setter Drew Robertson (Long Beach, Calif./Long Beach Poly), who had 84 assists, 13 digs and eight services aces, including seven against the Badgers.
Purdue (12-14, 5-11) will be focused on regrouping after getting swept by Minnesota and Iowa last week. The Boilermakers will turn to middle hitter Kim McConaha and left-side hitter Leah Wischmeier this Friday, as the former notched 24 kills and 19 digs over the weekend, while the latter had 38 kills, including a career-high 24 against the Hawkeyes.
Indiana (11-16, 4-12) also splits its matches last week, topping Iowa but falling to Minnesota. The Hoosiers are led by outside hitter Christina Archibald (28 kills, 18 digs, nine blocks last week) and middle blocker Melissa Brewer (25 kills, 13 blocks). Archibald is sixth in the conference in kills (4.14/game), while Brewer ranks 19th in the same category (3.42/game).
Both matches this week are scheduled to start at 7 p.m. (EST).