Oct. 17, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics 
Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- With its back against the wall versus 17th-ranked Illinois, Northwestern rallied from two sets down to notch its first Big Ten Conference victory of the season, taking a thrilling five-set victory (20-25, 27-25, 11-25, 25-19, 19-17) to upset the Illini. The Wildcats improve to 7-11 on the year and 1-6 in conference play and extend their winning streak at Huff Hall to four matches.
Coming off a big road sweep of Ohio State and Michigan last weekend, Illinois (13-5, 4-3) kept that momentum going, racing to an 11-4 lead early in the first set. A Wildcat run trimmed the lead to two at 21-19, but that was as close as the `Cats would get, dropping the opening frame 25-20. Junior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) paced the NU offense with three kills, while senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and sophomore Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) added a pair each. Baxterbeck also registered five digs in the set, second only to junior Kate Nobilio's (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) six.
The Wildcats struck first in the second set, pouncing out to the early 11-4 lead. The Illini would respond with a 10-4 run of their own to get to within a point at 15-14. After Illinois tied the set at 18, it appeared Northwestern was poised to finish off the Illini, taking a 24-19 lead, before a 6-0 run put Illinois in a match point situation with a 25-24 advantage. But three straight points by the Wildcats, capped off with a block from sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal), clinched the 27-25 second set victory for NU.
Four kills from freshman Alexandra Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymont) and additional three from Hyser spaked the offensive charge for the `Cats, while Moffett registered four blocks. 11 assists from sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) and seven digs from Nobilio helped pave the way for the Wildcat victory.
After exchanging points early in the third set, Illinois began to regain its momentum, building its lead to nine at 18-9. The Illini then used a 7-2 run to finish off the Wildcats, taking the 25-11 victory and handing NU its most lopsided set defeat of the season. Northwestern managed just five kills in the third set, with a pair of them coming from Moffett, while Nobilio added five digs.
With neither team able to build a comfortable cushion early in the fourth set, Northwestern used a 4-1 run late to hit the 20-point plateau first, taking a 20-18 advantage. This time, however, the `Cats were able to seal the deal, closing out the set on a 9-2 run to take the 25-19 victory and force the decisive fifth set behind five kills from Moffett and an additional four apiece from Hyser and Baxterbeck. Glab controlled the offense by dishing out 14 assists while Nobilio anchored the Northwestern defense with eight digs, and was complimented by an additional six from Baxterbeck.
Both teams exchanged points through the early part of the final set, with Illinois building a two-point cushion at 9-7. NU would reclaim the lead at 12-10, then came to within a point of the victory at 14-12. Illinois would rally to tie the set at 14, but with the match knotted at 17, Moffett came up huge with a block, followed by the match-winning kill to end Northwestern's seven-match slide.
There were a few other brights spot on the night for the Wildcats, as with her six block assists Hyser bumped her career total to 318 and moved into sole possession of seventh place on the NU all-time career leaders, surpassing Pattijean McCahill's career total of 312. She also leapfrogged Miriam Stariha and McCahill on the total blocks list and now sits in eighth place with 380. Glab also continues to make her mark on the Wildcat record books, as her 44 assists on the night brings her career total to 1,892, surpassing Renee Duckmann's total of 1,858 to move into ninth-place all-time.
Moffett and Hyser's 12 kills each fueled the Wildcat offense, with Baxterbeck notching 10 kills of her own. The duo of Moffett and Hyser was also a force at the net, as the pair combined for 14 blocks on the evening. Glab dished out 44 assists in the Northwestern victory while Nobilio's 34 digs on the night was tied for the fourth-best single-match performance in NU history. Baxterbeck added 15 digs for the `Cats while freshman Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) notched 11.
Northwestern wraps up its three-match road trip in West Lafayette, Ind., facing 21st-ranked Purdue on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Boilermakers topped 19th-ranked Wisconsin in five sets Friday evening to improve to 15-4 on the year and are 4-3 in Big Ten play. Opening serve at Holloway Gymnasium is set for 6 p.m. CDT.