Sept. 9, 2005
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Northwestern played its first match of the Chicagoland Classic Friday afternoon in two parts. After struggles in games one and two, the Wildcats turned on the engines and throttled Loyola in the final two games at the DePaul Athletic Center, 31-29, 23-30, 30-15, 30-13.
With the win, the Wildcats improve to 4-1 overall and avenge a first-round loss to the Ramblers in last year's Classic. Loyola falls to 0-5 with the loss.
Northwestern had trouble clicking early on in the match. After holding a six-point lead at 16-10, NU had to battle to claim the first game. Loyola fought back to tie the score, 24-24, before getting a game point try, 29-28.
NU junior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) would have none of it, however, killing the ball on three consecutive points to give the first game to the Wildcats, 31-29.
The second game did not end as well. Down 8-6 early on, Northwestern rattled off five straight points -- including three blocks -- to take an 11-8 lead. The Ramblers began to pull away after that, though, tying the score 13-13 before eventually ending up with a 30-23 win.
Clearly motivated after dropping the second game, the Wildcats came out firing and blitzed the Ramblers, 30-15, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. NU earned the first three points before opening up a nine-point lead, 19-10, and forcing Loyola to call timeout. The Wildcats did not let up, and soon a Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) ace gave NU a 29-12 lead.
Anderson propelled the NU offense in the third game, hitting .455 with seven kills and three service aces.
Game four saw Northwestern continue to pummel its opponent. The Wildcats held an 11-6 lead when Loyola used its first timeout, then went on a 5-1 run to force the Ramblers to use their second with the score 16-7. Hitting on all cylinders, NU's attack quickly finished off the Ramblers, 30-13.
Through the first two games of the match, Northwestern hit .099 as a team. The Wildcats finished the match with a .241 attack percentage after hitting .520 in game three and .387 in game four.
Anderson recorded her second double-double of the season, finishing with a match-high 18 kills and 10 digs. She also had four service aces. Purcell chipped in 13 kills of her own while junior Cassie McLaughlin (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) paced NU with a .467 hitting percentage.
Sophomore Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) led the Wildcats with five blocks, four of them solos. Senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) finished with a team-best 14 digs.
Junior Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) and sophomore Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) both reached the 20 assist total, with Greenwood registered 29 and Jurivich 20.
Northwestern returns to action tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 10, with back-to-back matches at the Chicagoland Classic. NU faces host DePaul at 2 p.m. before taking on UIC at 4:30 p.m. at the DePaul Athletic Center.