Aug. 29, 2007
Northwestern's LAX Classic Notes in PDF Format
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- After opening the season with a championship performance at the Chicago Challenge, Northwestern takes its show on the road this weekend for the Loyola Marymount Four Points Sheraton LAX Classic at Gersten Pavilion in Los Angeles, Calif.
The Wildcats begin the tournament with a match against the host Lions at 9 p.m. CT Friday, Aug. 31, before taking on both UNLV and UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Sept. 1.
Northwestern swept its two Chicago Challenge matches last weekend at Welsh-Ryan Arena, holding Loyola (Chicago) to a negative hitting percentage, before taking the title over UIC. The last time NU held an opponent to a negative attack percentage was Sept. 14, 2002, against Loyola College (Md.).
Senior Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) and sophomore Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) were named to the all-tournament team, while senior Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) picked up MVP honors at the Challenge.
Loyola Marymount comes into the weekend with a 1-2 record after defeating Michigan State but falling to No. 6 USC and St. John's to begin the year. Opposite hitter and three-time All-West Coast Conference selection Heather Hughes led the Lions with 5.20 kills and 3.3 digs per game to earn a USC Trojan Invitational All-Tournament team nod.
UNLV won its own tournament with a 2-1 record to begin the season, book-ending wins over Arizona State and Virginia around a loss to Texas Tech. The Rebels' Melody Nua was named tournament MVP, and was joined on the all-tournament team by teammates Lauren Miramontes and Jada Walker.
UC Santa Barbara's Lauren McLaughlin was named Big West Player of the Week after leading the Gauchos to a 2-1 mark at the San Diego Invitational. The last time Northwestern faced UCSB was in the 1983 NCAA Tournament where the Gauchos ousted the Wildcats, 3-0.
For Northwestern's complete game notes package on the LMU Four Points Sheraton LAX Classic, click on the .pdf link at the top of this page.
The Tournament
Friday, August 31
UC Santa Barbara vs. UNLV 6:30 p.m. CT
Northwestern at LMU 9 p.m. CT
Saturday, September 1
Northwestern vs. UNLV Noon CT
UC Santa Barbara at LMU 2:30 p.m. CT
UC Santa Barbara vs. Northwestern 7 p.m. CT
UNLV at LMU 9 p.m. CT
Series Records
Loyola Marymount: Teams have never met
UNLV: Teams have never met
UC Santa Barbara: UCSB leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Dec. 3, 1983 (UCSB, 3-0)
On The Web
Gametracker for all matches will be available at NUsports.com. Also, live streaming audio will be available for the Loyola Marymount match courtesy of the host Lions. To access the audio, visit LMUlions.com.