Oct. 21, 2006
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Northwestern came into the Intercollegiate Athletic Center and took the first game on the newly-dedicated floor, but No. 14 Purdue escaped games two and three with two-point victories en route to a 3-1 win over the Wildcats, 23-30, 32-30, 30-28, 30-23.
With the loss, Northwestern falls to 10-9 overall, 4-6 in the Big Ten. The win bumps Purdue to 17-4 on the season, 7-3 in the conference.
The Wildcats had 10 solo blocks in the match, tied for the third-best total in school history. The effort was NU's best since recording 11 solo blocks against Villanova on Sept. 10, 1993.
Northwestern scored the first four points of the match, capped by a Lauren Greenwood (Brentwood, Tenn./Brentwood) ace. Purdue recorded the next four points to tie the score, 4-4. With the Wildcats later trailing by two, 13-11, NU reeled off a 5-0 spurt highlighted by two Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) kills and a solo block to take a 16-13 lead.
A Paulus ace and a solo block by Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) helped extend that lead to six, 20-14, and the Boilermakers used their second timeout of the 9-1 Wildcats' run.
Northwestern eventually worked its lead to nine, 26-17, on a kill from Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier), before Purdue fought back to within six, 28-22, and NU head coach Keylor Chan used a timeout. A Paulus kill and an Anderson kill followed, giving the Wildcats a 30-23 game one victory.
Game two was close until the midway point, when Purdue opened up a three-point lead, 14-11, and Northwestern called timeout. The Boilermakers gradually made it a five-point advantage, 23-18, and Chan used his second timeout.
Out of the break, Greenwood served up another ace and Anderson pounded home a back-row kill to help a quick 3-0 spurt and cause a Purdue timeout with the NU deficit at two, 23-21. Still down by two, another Anderson kill and a Boilermaker attack error knotted the score for the 'Cats, 26-26.
Purdue battled back to earn two game points, 29-27, but two Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) kills and one from Paulus earned NU a game point of its own, 30-29. The Boilermakers, however, took the next three points to win game two, 32-30, and even the match, 1-1.
NU established the first separation of game three, using two Paulus kills and one from Purcell to help create a five-point advantage, 13-8, and force a Purdue timeout. A pair of kills by junior Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) later helped push that lead to eight, 22-14.
Purdue got red-hot at that point, lighting up an 8-2 run to come all the way back to tie, 24-24, before a Hyser kill broke the momentum. A Paulus kill and an error from Purdue gave NU a 27-25 lead, and Purdue used its second timeout of the game.
The teams traded points -- including an Anderson kill after freshman libero Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) kept alive a zero block with her ridiculously quick reflexes -- until Purdue notched four in a row to win game three, 30-28, and take a 2-1 lead in the match.
It was Purdue with the first extended lead of game four, pushing itself to a four-point cushion, 15-11, to prompt an NU timeout. Two Purcell kills and a solo block by Paulus helped the Wildcats bring the deficit down to two, 17-15, but the Boilermakers extended back out to a five-point lead, 21-16, to prompt NU's second timeout of the game.
The Wildcats were unable to get back into the game, falling 30-23 in the fourth and 3-1 in the match.
Anderson led Northwestern with 14 kills, while Paulus and Aldridge both had 11. Paulus added 11 digs for a double-double, while Aldridge hit a match-best .526 (11-1-19). Nobilio had a match-high 18 digs, while Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) dished out a match-best 42 assists.
Hyser led the way with four solo blocks, while Paulus had three.
Northwestern returns to action at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 27, against Michigan State at Welsh-Ryan Arena.