Nov. 29, 2008
2008 Northwestern Volleyball Final Statistics 
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) recorded 17 digs Saturday evening, making her the all-time digs leader in Northwestern volleyball history, but it wasn't enough as Northwestern closes out the 2008 season with a three-set defeat at the hands of 15th-ranked Illinois (18-25, 16-25, 17-25) at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats finish the season with an overall record of 8-23, and were 2-18 in Big Ten Conference play.
Nobilio entered the evening 10 digs shy of Christie Gardner's all-time mark of 1,658, and dug into that deficit early by recording seven in the opening stanza. She tied the all-time mark by contributing to a kill from sophomore Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore), then thwarted a Laura DeBruler attack late in the second set to surpass Gardner on the all-time list. Nobilio, who still has a season left to play, finished the night with 17 digs, upping her career total to 1,665, and closed out her junior season with 556 on the year, the third-highest single-season total in Wildcat history. She now sits alone in the Northwestern record books, holding the first, third and fourth-best yearly dig totals in the program's history.
Saturday evening also marked Senior Night at Welsh-Ryan Arena, as Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) and Kelly Keporos (Downers Grove, Ill./Downers Grove North) were both honored prior to the match. Hyser led the team in kills on the evening, recording 12 for the 17th double-digit kill total of the year, a team best, and led the `Cats with 304 on the season. She also recorded three block assists, closing out her career in fourth-place with 361. Hyser also finds herself sixth all-time in total blocks (435) and eighth in solo blocks (22). She was a constant at the net as well, as her career hitting percentage of .295 ranks second all-time in NU history.
Gray and sophomore Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) each added nine kills for NU, closing out 2008 with 288 and 280 respectively. Moffett was the Wildcats' leader in total blocks with 115 as well as block assists (94), just edging out Hyser in both categories. Sophomore Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) dished out 31 assists on the night, upping her season total to 1,101. She will enter her junior season ranked seventh on the all-time assist list, 25 shy of sixth-place Jackie Nunez. Glab also finished third on the team in blocks with 67.
Northwestern now turns its attention to 2009 as it regroups for another run at a Big Ten title and an NCAA tournament berth. The future looks bright for head coach Keylor Chan's squad, as the team will return all but one starter (Hyser) and will look for its youth to build upon the lessons learned in 2008.