Oct. 4, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) had a career night, recording 10 kills on 20 attempts with no errors and adding five digs, but it wasn't enough as the Wildcats drop a three-set decision to 22nd-ranked Michigan 17-25, 18-25, 23-25 Saturday evening at Welsh-Ryan Arena. Northwestern drops to 6-9 on the season and 0-4 in Big Ten play, while the Wolverines improve to 14-2 and 2-2 in conference action.
Michigan took control of the opening set quickly, pushing its advantage to 11 at 20-9. The Wildcats tried to stage a late rally, but the deficit was too great as Michigan took the set 25-17. Baxterbeck, senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and sophomore Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) each recorded three kills in the opening set for NU while sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out 11 assists.
Northwestern and Michigan battled point-for-point at the onset of the second set. But with it tied at nine apiece, the Wolverines went on a 7-0 run to break it open, then kept the Wildcats at bay, winning 25-18. Baxterbeck sparked NU's offense with five kills, with Hyser adding three and sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) tallying a pair. Glab continued her strong play with eight assists and a pair of blocks.
Set three was competitive throughout as neither team was able to get more than a two-point cushion until Michigan gained a four-point advantage at 19-15. But Northwestern hung tough, rallying to take a 22-20 lead. With the set deadlocked at 23, a pair of attack errors on the Wildcats proved to be the difference as the Wolverines took the set 25-23 to seal the match. Juliana Paz lead all players with 17 kills for Michigan with 10 from Beth Karpiak, and Barrington native Lexi Zimmerman dished out 39 assists in her Chicago homecoming.
In addition to the 10 kills from Baxterbeck, Gray and Hyser each finished with seven for Northwestern, while sophomore Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) added five of her own. Hyser and Glab lead the defensive effort for NU with six blocks each in addition to 27 assists from Glab. Junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) recorded nine assists, snapping her double-digit dig streak at 31 matches. Baxterbeck, Glab and freshman Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) contributed with five digs each.
Northwestern concludes its three-match homestand with a critical showdown against 20th-ranked Wisconsin Wednesday, Oct. 8. The match against the Badgers will be televised live on the Big Ten Network, and the opening serve is at 7 p.m.