Oct. 6, 2006
Box Score
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Northwestern went on the road for the first time in the Big Ten this season Friday night at Cliff Keen Arena, falling to Michigan in a trio of close games, 30-28, 30-25, 30-28.
With the loss, Northwestern falls to 7-7 overall on the season, 1-4 in the Big Ten. With the win, Michigan improves to 14-4 on the year, 1-4 in the conference.
Michigan scored the first three points of game one before Northwestern came right back to tie, 4-4. The Wolverines continued to use mini-runs to take leads of up to three, but the Wildcats did not let the hosts get farther than that until a 4-0 run later in the game gave UM a five-point lead, 21-16.
Northwestern came roaring back, getting a trio of kills from junior Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier), a kill from setter Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) and a solo block by senior Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) to ignite a 5-0 run that gave NU the lead, 24-23.
The teams traded points until Michigan earned the match's first game point, 29-27. A Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) kill gave the Wildcats a sideout, but the Wolverines picked up one of their own on the next point to take game one, 30-28.
Freshman libero Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) compiled 10 digs in the first game for the 'Cats.
Northwestern took the early lead in game two, leading by four, 8-4, after an Anderson ace. Like the Wildcats in the first game, the Wolverines reeled their opponents back in to tie the game, 10-10. Michigan continued with the momentum, forcing a Northwestern timeout when the hosts opened a three-point lead, 17-14.
Michigan pulled away from there, reaching game point with a nine-point lead, 29-20. Building some mo' for the third game, however, Northwestern reeled off a 5-0 run before eventually succumbing, 30-25.
The Wildcats did indeed come out of the break hot, building an early five-point lead, 13-8, to force a Wolverine timeout. A pair of kills from Jurivich helped spark the early run. As in the second game, Michigan came all the way back to tie the score, 16-16.
The teams traded sideouts and ties until a pair of Anderson kills and an ace by Paulus gave Northwestern a quick 3-0 spurt and a 24-22 lead to cause Michigan's second timeout of the game.
The Wolverines again came back to eventually win the third game, 30-28.
Anderson led Northwestern with 12 kills, while sophomore Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) had a team-high .444 hitting percentage (9-1-18). Nobilio finished with a match-high 23 digs, the best three-game match total for any Big Ten student-athlete this season.
Freshman Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) reached double-digits in digs for the first time in her career in the match, notching 10.
Junior Amy Odenthal (Geneva, Ill./Geneva), a Northwestern student who joined the team prior to this season, made her first-collegiate appearance in the second game, recording an assist.
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Saturday night at Michigan State.