Sept. 5, 2009
Northwestern at IUPUI Box Score 
2009 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
Box Score
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Northwestern carried the momentum gained from its four-set victory over Miami (Ohio) this morning and added to it, taking a convincing 25-16, 25-17, 25-6 over the host Jaguars at the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational. The Wildcats notch their third-straight victory and improve to 3-2 on the year while handing the Jaguars their first loss of the season (5-1).
"We played solid today and showed a lot of maturity and composure," said head coach Keylor Chan. "We lost a rough one in the first set to Miami (Ohio), but after that we found a way to win the second set and just kind of rolled after that. Our girls really responded against IUPUI and showed a lot of improvement, so overall, it was a really good day for us."
Northwestern set the tone for the match early, pouncing to a 6-0 lead on IUPUI in the opening set. The Wildcats would extend that advantage to as many as 10 at 20-10 before settling in to close out the 25-16 win.
Junior Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) and sophomore Madalyn Shalter (Ottawa, Ohio/Ottawa-Glandorf) continued their stellar play on the day, with each of them tallying three kills in the opening set. Junior Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) had eight assists, with seniors Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) and Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) combining for 11 digs.
The second set started out in much the same way for NU as the 'Cats set the tone with an early 9-4 advantage. IUPUI was able to get to within a pair at 17-15, but a 5-0 run pushed the Wildcat cushion to seven at 22-15 before Northwestern closed out the set 25-17 to take a 2-0 edge.
Sophomore Alexandra Ayers' (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymount) four kills led all players, with Johnson and junior Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) adding three to the Wildcat attack. Shalter kept up her solid play with a pair of kills and six digs while Glab dished out 13 assists.
But the opening two sets were nothing compared to the Northwestern offensive onslaught in the third. Leading 7-4, the Wildcats would score 15 of the next 17 points, breaking the set open at 22-6 before knocking down the final three points to seal the match with a dominating 25-6 decision.
Shalter, who set a new personal-best with 11 kills against the RedHawks earlier in the day, followed up that performance with 10 more against the Jaguars while adding 12 digs and blocking a career-high eight attacks. Johnson added nine kills and three blocks on the night for the 'Cats while Moffett finished with seven kills on 16 attempts with no errors - the second-straight match without a hitting error. Moffett also tied Shalter with a game-high eight blocks. Glab finished with 32 assists on the night, while Nobilio had 17 digs to anchor the Wildcat defense.
The victory caps a successful day for Chan and his 'Cats, who recovered from an opening set loss to defeat Miami (Ohio) in four sets. Northwestern looks to capture the IUPUI Hampton Inn Invitational title Sunday morning, taking to the court at "The Jungle" to face Western Kentucky at 11:30 a.m. CT.