Oct. 11, 2009
Box Score
Northwestern vs. Indiana Box Score 
2009 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
Northwestern vs. Indiana Photo Gallery
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Junior Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) knocked down a career-best 24 kills and added seven blocks, willing Northwestern to a 17-25, 25-20, 25-20, 16-25, 15-13 victory over Indiana at Welsh-Ryan Arena Sunday evening. Junior Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) added 13 kills and six blocks as well as the Wildcats take their second-straight five-set conference victory, improving to 11-7 on the year and 2-4 in Big Ten play.
Moffett, who was coming off a 15 kill, eight block performance against Purdue Saturday night, had just five errors on a career-best 41 attempts for a .463 hitting percentage. On the weekend, the redshirt junior finished with 39 kills on 64 attempts, a .500 hitting percentage and 15 blocks.
Junior Brittani Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) added nine kills and six blocks up front for the Wildcats, while senior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) finished with five kills, 15 digs and four blocks and redshirt freshman Kathryn Chrystal (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) had four kills and four blocks. Junior Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) finished with a match-high 50 assists to compliment four kills and nine digs and senior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) dug a match-high 28 balls.
Trailing 8-4 at the midway point of set five, Northwestern found the spark it needed. The Wildcats would knock down eight of the next 10 points to take a 12-10 advantage on Indiana. The Hoosiers rallied back to tie the set at 12 and again at 13, but following an Indiana attack error, Moffett sealed the victory with her career-best 24th kill, giving Northwestern the victory in front of an amped-up home crowd.
After defeating Purdue in a thrilling five set match Saturday evening, Northwestern carried that momentum early in the match against Indiana (13-7, 2-4 Big Ten), pouncing out to an early 7-2 lead in the opening set. But the Hoosiers would rattle off nine unanswered points to take an 11-7 lead and never looked back, pushing their advantage to as many as nine at 19-10. The Wildcats attempted a late rally, but it wasn't enough as they fell 25-17.
Set two, however, is when Moffett took over. Trailing 13-10 midway through the set, Northwestern outscored Indiana 10-2, sparked by five kills from Moffett. She would eventually finish with nine in the set, as the Wildcats rolled to the 25-20 victory, knotting the match at one at intermission.
Neither team could gain control of set three, as after 12 ties and four lead changes, Northwestern finally built a three-point cushion at 19-16. The 'Cats pushed that advantage to five at 22-17, and kept the Hoosiers at bay down the stretch for the 25-20 decision.
The Wildcats looked poised to close out the match in four, as NU built a 13-10 lead midway through the fourth set, only to see Indiana respond a 12-1 run to blow the set open at 22-14. The Hoosiers once again staved off a late Wildcat rally, taking the 25-16 victory and forcing the decisive fifth set.
Ashley Benson and Jordan Haverly each recorded double-digit kill totals for Indiana, with Benson finishing with 14 kills and five blocks and Haverly adding 11 kills and six blocks. Haverly notched a double-double for the Hoosiers, finishing with a team-best 21 digs.
There is little rest for the Wildcats as they now set their sights on in-state rival Illinois. Northwestern makes the annual trip down to Champaign Wednesday evening for a 7 p.m. match that will be aired live on the Big Ten Network. The 'Cats have won the last four meetings against the Illini in Huff Hall, including last season's five set thriller.