Oct. 29, 2005
Box Score
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Senior Christie Gardner (West Bend, Wis./West Bend East) recorded 18 digs Saturday night at Rec Hall to become Northwestern's all-time digs leader, but the Wildcats fell in the match to No. 3 Penn State, 30-24, 30-23, 30-21.
Gardner finished the second game with 11 digs, tying Janine Makar's (1985-88) career mark of 1,430. She claimed first place all by herself with a dig on a marathon fourth point in game three, tying the score, 2-2.
With the loss, Northwestern falls to 12-10 overall on the year, 3-9 in the Big Ten. The Nittany Lions remain undefeated in the conference, 12-0, and improve to 21-2 overall.
While they did not win a game during the match, the Wildcats put together some of their most impressive play of the season against a Penn State team that has dropped just two conference games all season.
Penn State took control of the first game, going on a 7-2 run early in the match to open an 11-4 advantage. Trailing 16-9 later in the game, the Wildcats put together a 5-1 run to close to within three, 17-14.
The Wildcats continued to keep the score close, exchanging points with the Nittany Lions until PSU eventually won game one by a six point margin, 30-24.
Penn State came out fast in the second game, building an 11-4 lead before Northwestern took a timeout. After the Wildcats cut that lead to six, 13-7, the Nittany Lions roared out to a 17-8 advantage and NU head coach Keylor Chan used his second timeout.
Northwestern once more chopped into the PSU lead, making it six again, 21-15. The Wildcats staved off three game points from the Nittany Lions, including one on a Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) ace, but Penn State won the second game, 30-23.
The Wildcats claimed the early lead in game three, tying the match on Gardner's historic dig before staking themselves to a 5-3 lead. Both teams went back and forth before Penn State took a 14-11 lead after a 3-0 run.
Northwestern continued to prevent the Penn State runs that plagued the teams' first meeting in Evanston, but eventually the Nittany Lions pushed out to a five-point lead, 21-16, to force NU's final timeout.
Northwestern came out of the timeout to chop that lead to three, 24-21, before Penn State scored the final six points of the match to win 30-21 in a sweep.
Junior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) finished with a team-best 14 kills for NU, while sophomore Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) logged her second double-double in as many matches (10 kills, 10 digs).
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 4, when it hosts Purdue at Welsh-Ryan Arena.