Sept. 9, 2006
Box Score
HONOLULU -- After falling in two close, hard-fought matches against top-10 opponents at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge, Northwestern came out and throttled Fairfield Saturday night to conclude the tournament with a sweep, 30-27, 30-22, 30-25.
With the win, Northwestern evens its season record to 3-3 and finishes third in the tournament with a 1-2 mark. With the loss, Fairfield falls to 3-6 overall on the year and 0-3 in the event.
Northwestern led throughout game one, rushing out to a five-point lead, 10-5, but Fairfield always battled back. Each time the Stags pulled to within one, the Wildcats responded with spurts. With the score 22-21 in favor of the 'Cats, NU scored twice to extend its lead to three, 24-21, and force Fairfield's second timeout of the game.
That lead stayed consistent until a Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) kill gave Northwestern a 1-0 lead in the match with a 30-27 game one victory.
The Wildcats leapt out to a 7-2 lead in game two and made it a six-point advantage, 15-9, after three-consecutive kills from sophomore Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere), Aldridge and junior Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) heading into the media timeout.
Northwestern continued to apply the pressure, causing a Fairfield timeout when freshman Kate Nobilio's (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) ace made the NU lead nine, 21-12.
After the Stags pulled back within four, 26-22, the Wildcats reeled off the next four points to take game two, 30-22. Kills by junior Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and Aldridge were followed by an Aldridge and Paulus combined block to round out the game-two scoring and give NU a 2-0 match advantage.
In game three, it was Fairfield racing out to an early lead, eventually peaking with a six-point lead, 8-2, before an Aldridge kill ended the run. The Wildcats battled back to tie the game, 14-14, helped by a trio of kills from sophomore Kelly Keporos (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North).
The game was close from there to the end, when NU pulled ahead to a three-point lead, 27-24, and forced a Fairfield timeout. Kills by Aldridge and Keporos helped the 'Cats during the spurt. Two more Keporos kills put NU on the verge of the sweep, 29-25, and after another Stags' timeout, an attack error ending the game, 30-25, and gave the Wildcats the sweep.
Starting the third game, Keporos finished with a career-high eight kills. All of her kills came in the third game, which was the first game start of her career.
Jurivich recorded a double-double for Northwestern with 39 assists and 17 digs, coming in just two digs shy of her career high. Aldridge led the 'Cats on the attack with 12 kills, while Nobilio and Paulus both registered 13 digs for NU. Keporos hit .471 to pace the Wildcats in the match, killing eight balls on 17 swings with no errors in the third game alone. Aldridge hit .458 (12-1-24) in a stellar match of her own.
Northwestern returns to action next weekend, Friday-Saturday, Sept. 15-16, when it hosts Eastern Illinois, Pittsburgh and No. 21 Arizona in the Wildcat Classic at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Waikiki Beach Marriott Volleyball Challenge All-Tournament Team
Foluke Akinradewo, Stanford
Sarah Mason, Hawaii
Jamie Houston, Hawaii
Kate Nobilio, Northwestern
Lindsey Lee, Fairfield
Kristin Richards, Stanford
Cynthia Barboza, Stanford (MVP)