Sept. 26, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics 
Box Score
MINNEAPOLIS -- Northwestern gave 12th-ranked Minnesota everything it could handle, but the Gophers used their homecourt advantage to get past the Wildcats 3-0 (22-25, 23-25, 24-26) at the Sports Pavilion. NU drops to 6-6 on the season and 0-1 in Big Ten Conference play.
Minnesota (11-2, 1-0) jumped out quickly in the opening set to a seven point cushion at 13-6 before Northwestern would get to within a pair at 18-16. After the Gophers registered the next three points, the Wildcats fought back to get it within two, but couldn't get over the hump as Minnesota took the opening set 25-22 behind eight kills from Lauren Gibbemeyer. Sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) paced the `Cats with five kills and a pair of blocks while senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) added four of her own.
After falling behind 5-1 early in the second set, Northwestern put together a 9-1 run to take its first lead of the match at 10-6. Minnesota wouldn't go away, however, reclaiming the lead at 23-22, then taking two of the next three points to complete the comeback and take the set 25-23. Freshman Alexandra Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount) fueled the Wildcat offensive charge with five kills with Moffett adding four kills and a pair of blocks and three kills from Hyser. Sophomore setter Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out a dozen assists for NU.
Neither team could take control of the third set as both the Wildcats and Gophers exchanged blows throughout. But with the set knotted at 15, Minnesota pulled ahead with a 6-1 run to take the 21-16 advantage, only to have Northwestern respond with a 6-1 run of its own to tie the set at 22. Deadlocked at 24, the Gophers registered the final two points to take the victory 26-24 and take the Big Ten opener for both schools.
Hyser and Moffet finished with 10 kills apiece for Northwestern, with Moffet recording five blocks on the evening. Gray and Ayers each had seven kills, while sophomore Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) added six in her Minneapolis homecoming. Glab handed out 35 assists as well for the Wildcats. Defensively, it was junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) who anchored the backcourt for Northwestern, finishing with 17 digs, and was complimented by 12 each from Ayers and freshman Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf).
NU makes the trek down I-35 to Iowa City, Iowa to face the Hawkeyes Saturday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m. Iowa stunned 18th-ranked Wisconsin 3-0 (25-23, 25-19, 25-10) Friday night to improve to 9-4 on the year and 1-0 in conference play. The Wildcats have played extremely well at Carver-Hawkeye Arena in recent years, winning the last six matches on Iowa's home court.