Sept. 7, 2005
Northwestern Tournament Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Fresh off an impressive performance at the Four Points University Plaza Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Ariz., Northwestern returns to the Second City this weekend for the Chicagoland Classic hosted by DePaul.
The Wildcats open play against Loyola at 4:30 p.m. Friday before playing back-to-back matches at 2 p.m. (vs. DePaul) and 4:30 p.m. (vs. UIC) Saturday afternoon.
This is the seventh year NU will participate in the event. The Wildcats have compiled a 13-3 overall record in the event since its inception, and have won four of the six previous Challenges they have played in.
Northwestern made an appearance in the AVCA/CSTV Coaches Poll this week, receiving 12 votes after its sweep of No. 20 Georgia Tech in Arizona.
Junior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) earned all-tournament team honors last weekend, and currently leads NU with 3.64 kills per game. Sophomore Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) paces the `Cats in hitting percentage (.351) and blocks (1.42 per game), while senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) leads the way with 38 digs on the season.
Loyola enters the weekend winless on the season. Hilary Stromath and Keily Zins lead the Ramblers in kills, both averaging more than three per game. Stromath also leads Loyola in blocks with 14 total on the season.
The Chicago Challenge will be DePaul's second home tournament in a row. The Blue Demons finished 1-2 in their Blue Demon Invitational last weekend with their win coming over Chicago State. DePaul has a quartet of players averaging more than three kills per game, but is hitting just .170 as a team.
UIC also enters the Challenge with one win, having defeated Denver in five games at its own UIC Invitational. Four of the Flames six matches this season have gone more than three games.