Oct. 23, 2009
Box Score
Northwestern at Iowa Box Score 
2009 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Senior Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) became just the fifth player in Big Ten Conference history to record 2,000 career digs, but Northwestern dropped a hard-fought three-set decision to Iowa 23-25, 25-27, 21-25 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Nobilio, who needed just seven digs to join the exclusive club, finished with 15 and now has 2,008 in a Wildcat uniform. The Big Ten's active dig leader, Nobilio now needs just six more to surpass Purdue's Kelli Miller (2005-08) to move into fourth-place among the conference's all-time dig leaders.
Junior Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) once again led Northwestern (11-10, 2-7 Big Ten) at the nets, knocking down a team-high 11 kills and adding four blocks, including a pair of solo blocks. Senior Ariel Baxterbeck (Menlo Park, Calif./Castilleja) added 10 kills and five digs for the Wildcats with junior Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) recording seven kills and four blocks.
Redshirt freshman Kathryn Chrystal (Crystal Lake, Ill./Central) was the third Wildcat to finish with four blocks against the Hawkeyes while adding four digs. Junior Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) finished with 27 assists and six digs on the night for Northwestern.
Iowa (11-10, 3-6 Big Ten) built an early advantage on the Wildcats, taking a 10-4 edge early in the opening set. NU would rally back, outscoring the Hawkeyes 11-5 to tie the match at 15, but were unable to take the lead. Leading 24-19, Iowa would hold off a late Northwestern rally down the stretch, taking set one 25-23.
The Hawkeyes struck early in set two, building a four-point lead on the 'Cats at 10-6, but Northwestern found its scoring touch, using a 13-4 run to build a 19-14 advantage on Iowa. But the Hawkeyes would rally back on their homecourt, using a 13-6 run of its own and fighting off set point to take the second set 27-25.
With momentum on its side, Iowa took control of set three and never looked back, building a 16-9 lead on Northwestern. The Wildcats weren't going down quietly however, using a 10-3 run to tie match at 19. But Iowa once again held off NU down the stretch, taking the match with a 25-21 third set victory.
Iowa's Aimee Huffman finished with a match-high 14 kills and added nine digs while Becky Walters added seven kills and four blocks up front for the Hawkeyes.
The Wildcats now head to Madison, Wis., for a Saturday evening showdown with the Badgers. Wisconsin fell to eighth-ranked Illinois 3-1 Friday evening and lead Northwestern by just two matches in the Big Ten standings. Opening serve is set for 7 p.m. from Wisconsin Field House.