Oct. 25, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Northwestern held its own against top-ranked and defending national champion Penn State, but the Nittany Lions continued to roll through their 2008 season with a three-set victory over the Wildcats (25-19, 25-17, 25-14) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. NU wraps up the first half of the Big Ten season at 1-9 is 7-14 overall while Penn State still has not dropped a set on the season, improving to 22-0 and 10-0 in conference play.
Behind an energetic crowd and donning pink jerseys to help raise awareness in the battle against breast cancer, the Wildcats were able to match the Nittany Lions point for point through the early part of the opening stanza. But a 7-2 Penn State run broke the set open at 20-14, and the Nittany Lions cruised to the 25-19 victory. Sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) lead the Wildcats with three kills while senior Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) added a pair of kills to go along with a pair of solo blocks. Junior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) added a pair of kills as well.
It was Northwestern that came out of the gate quickly in the second set, building a 6-3 lead on PSU early. But the advantage proved to be short-lived as the Nittany Lions responded with an 18-7 run to take the lead at 21-13. The teams traded points down the stretch with Penn State taking a 25-17 victory into the intermission. Hyser again came up big for NU, tallying five kills and a block while Baxterbeck contributed three kills of her own.
As they have done all season, the Nittany Lions closed out the match in the third set, using an early 7-2 run to jump out in front and never looked back. The Wildcats were able to get to within four at 9-5, but Penn State closed out the set with a 16-9 run to clinch its 43rd consecutive victory. Megan Hodge sparked the Nittany Lion offense with 15 kills while Nicole Fawcett added 10 kills and five blocks on the evening.
Hyser stepped up big for the Wildcats, finishing with eight kills and five blocks on the evening, and was complimented by seven kills and four digs from Baxterbeck. Moffett added five kills and a block of her own. Junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) finished with nine digs for the `Cats while sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) added 21 assists, leaving her two shy of becoming the ninth player in the program's history to notch 2,000 assists in her career.
With the first half of the conference slate in its rear-view mirror, Northwestern now turns its focus to the second half of the Big Ten schedule, which begins Wednesday, Oct. 29, in Madison against the 21st ranked Badgers. The match will be televised live on the Big Ten Network beginning at 7 p.m. The Wildcats then return to Welsh-Ryan Arena to host Michigan State Saturday, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m.