Sept. 7, 2006
HONOLULU -- No. 8 Stanford defeated Northwestern in three games, 30-27, 30-27, 30-17, Thursday night in the first match of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge, but the Wildcats gave their top-10 opponent fits all night long.
The loss evens Northwestern's record at 2-2 on the season, while Stanford improves to 4-1 with its win. The match was the first for both in the tournament.
Stanford held a small cushion for much of the first game, building itself a six-point advantage, 22-16. Northwestern called timeout, then went on a rampage. Junior Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) earned a kill out of the break, followed by a Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) kill and a pair from senior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption). An ace by freshman Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) capped the 5-0 NU run to pull the Wildcats to within one, 22-21.
The Cardinal extended that lead to three, 25-22, before Aldridge and junior Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) blocked a pair of balls to spark a 3-0 Northwestern spurt to knot the score, 25-25.
Stanford pulled ahead after that, though, and went on to win game one, 30-27.
In game two, the Cardinal again attempted to pull away from the Wildcats, but could not slam the door shut. Trailing by six, 26-20, Northwestern put together a 7-2 run to get back within one, 28-27. A Paulus ace, a Purcell kill and a block by Aldridge and Jurivich were the catalysts in the run. Again, however, Stanford was able to withstand the charge and eke out a game two win, 30-27.
Game three was a dead heat until Stanford opened up a small four-point cushion at the media timeout, 15-11. From there, the Cardinal took advantage of several errors to finish off the Wildcats, 30-17.
Purcell led the 'Cats with 12 kills, while Paulus notched 11 digs to pace NU. Jurivich recorded 27 assists and Aldridge had a team-high five blocks in the match.
Northwestern plays its second match of the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge at midnight CT, Sept. 8 (technically Sept. 9), against No. 9 Hawaii.