Sept. 10, 2005
Box Score
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Northwestern claimed the 2005 Chicagoland Classic title Saturday afternoon at the DePaul Athletic Center, defeating UIC in a three-game sweep, 31-29, 30-25, 30-28, to give the Wildcats a perfect 3-0 record in the tournament.
The championship is NU's fifth in its seven-year history with the event. The Classic was held from 1995-98 and re-started in 2003. Northwestern has won every title save for the 1995 and 2004 events.
The match was the tail end of a back-to-back pair of matches for NU. Northwestern defeated DePaul in three games during the front end of Saturday afternoon's doubleheader. The Wildcats improve to 6-1 on the season with the victory.
UIC leapt out to a 12-6 lead in game one thanks to a 6-0 run. After a Northwestern timeout, the Wildcats came back tie the score, 14-14, on two consecutive aces by senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East).
The score remained close until the Flames created a three-point lead that NU negated with a 4-0 run, punctuated by a Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) stuff kill at the net to give the Wildcats a 28-27 lead.
UIC was able to earn a game point, 29-28, but Cassie McLaughlin (Cary, Ill./Cary Grove) got a kill to knot the score again. One point later, McLaughlin aced the Flames to give the Wildcats a 31-29 game one win.
Game two was a see-saw battle the whole way until a 6-1 Northwestern run opened up a 24-21 advantage. The Wildcats continued to press toward 30, and again McLaughlin ended the game with a kill to give NU a 30-25 win and a 2-0 match lead.
UIC roared out to a 7-2 lead in the third game, but just like the first game NU worked its way back right away. A block assist by Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) and McLaughlin tied the score, 8-8.
Northwestern then opened up a lead of its own, 19-15, with a four-point run. When the Wildcats extended the cushion to six, 27-21, UIC called a timeout, then reeled off three points to force an NU timeout with the score 27-24.
UIC refused to quit, slashing Northwestern's lead to one, 29-28, and prompting NU head coach Keylor Chan to use his second timeout. Purcell smashed the first attack out of the TO for a kill and a 30-28 Wildcat win.
McLaughlin finished with a team-high 14 kills and eight block assists, while Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) hit a team-best .455. Sophomore Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and Purcell also finished with double-digit kills for the Wildcats with 12 and 10, respectively.
Gardner was named tournament MVP while McLaughlin and Anderson joined her on the all-tournament team. Northwestern returns to action next weekend at its own Wildcat Classic.