Oct. 24, 2007
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EVANSTON, Ill. -- Playing its first home match on the Big Ten Network, Northwestern topped Michigan State in four games, 33-31, 27-30, 30-27, 30-24, Wednesday night at Welsh-Ryan Arena to begin the second half of the conference schedule on a winning note.
The victory was the third in a row for the Wildcats, improving NU to 13-9 on the season, 4-7 in the Big Ten. The loss dropped the Spartans to 13-10 overall, 4-7 in the conference.
Northwestern took an early five-point lead, 11-6, in game one, but Michigan State fought back to earn a tie, 18-18. Northwestern again pushed itself out into the lead, this time making its cushion four, 25-21, on a Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) kill.
The Wildcats got defensive in that first game, blocking eight Spartan attacks.
Michigan State went on a hefty run midway through game two to take a seven-point lead, 20-13. The Spartans put themselves on the brink of knotting the match with a 29-23 advantage, but NU got two-straight kills from Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and an MSU attack error to pull back within two, 29-27, before finally succumbing in the game, 30-27.
Game three saw both teams trade ties with no team holding more than a two-point lead all the way up until the very end. Trailing 26-25 late in the game, Northwestern used a timeout, then went on a 5-1 run to win the third game, 30-27. Two kills by Paulus and an Aldridge termination helped spark the NU run.
Northwestern held a slight lead most of the way through game four, but a Michigan State block cut the advantage to one, 21-20, later in the game. A kill by Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and a service ace by Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius) gave the 'Cats a 23-20 lead, but again MSU drew back to within one, 24-23.
From there, a 6-1 run by Northwestern closed out the game, 30-24, and the match, 3-1. Kills by Aldridge and Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) coupled with three MSU attack errors and one MSU service error accounted the NU's final six points of the match.
Aldridge finished the match with a career-high 18 kills and a match-best .455 hitting percentage (18-3-33). Anderson had a double-double with 14 kills and 14 digs, while matching her season high of four aces for the fifth time this season. Paulus also had a double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs, while Glab double-doubled with 50 assists and 10 digs. She also added a career-best six blocks.
Hyser contributed 11 kills and a season-best nine blocks. Sophomore Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) totaled a match-high 20 digs for Northwestern.
The Wildcats return to action at 7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 26, against Michigan. It is Voll-o-Ween at Welsh-Ryan Arena, so bring the kids and wear your best costumes!