Sept. 17, 2010
Northwestern 3, Charlotte 0
29th Annual Wildcat Classic
Site: Welsh-Ryan Arena Evanston, Ill.
Records: Northwestern (8-1), Charlotte (8-4)
Next Up: Harvard Saturday, Sept. 18 Noon
Box Score
Northwestern vs. Charlotte Box Score 
2010 Northwestern Volleyball Statistics
EVANSTON, Ill. -- Friday marked the opening night of the 29th annual Wildcat Classic at Welsh-Ryan Arena as Northwestern gutted out a hard-fought 25-23, 25-15, 25-21 victory over Charlotte in its opening match. The Wildcats improve to 8-1 on the season and notch their fourth-straight victory while snapping the 49ers four-match winning streak in the process.
Senior Naomi Johnson (Bloomington, Minn./Kennedy) continued her stellar play, recording a team-best nine kills with a .294 hitting percentage and four blocks on the night. Stephanie Holthus (Burlington, Ill./Central) added seven kills and nine digs of her own with Christina Kaelin (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) and Gabrielle Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore) knocking down six kills each, setting a new career-best for Gray.
Sabel Moffett (Temecula, Calif./Chapparal) had a quiet night offensively, recording just three kills, but continued to pace the Wildcats at the net with a match-best five blocks as the Wildcats out-blocked the 49ers 9-7. Elyse Glab (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) added four blocks to complement her 34 assists on the evening with Alex Ayers (Playa del Rey, Calif./Marymont) finishing with nine digs and three service aces.
Coming off its dominant weekend at the Ohio Baymont Inn Suites Invitational, Northwestern sought to carry that momentum into the final preseason tournament of the 2010 schedule, pouncing out to a 6-1 lead on Charlotte in the opening set. The Wildcats would extend that cushion to as much as 10 at 18-8, and held a comfortable 24-18 lead late before a 5-0 49er run trimmed the margin to just one at 24-23. But a kill from Gray staved off the Charlotte rally as Northwestern took the opening set 25-23.
After trading points early in set two, the Wildcats found themselves with a slim 12-10 edge. But again, it was Northwestern that found the scoring touch, piecing together a 10-2 run to take control at 22-12, this time making sure there would be no 49er rally by closing out the set at 25-15 to take a 2-0 edge into intermission.
Set three proved to be the most competitive from the opening serve as neither team was able to pull out in front until a 6-1 Wildcat run finally gave them a comfortable foot hold at 18-13. Charlotte wasn't going down quietly, however, rallying back to within two on a couple of occasions, the last of which came at 22-20. But once again Northwestern found a way to close out the set, recording three of the final four points to seal the match off a kill from Holthus.
As is customary with preseason tournaments, the Wildcats will have little time to savor the victory as they will be back on the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena at noon Saturday afternoon to take on Harvard. Northwestern then closes out the 2010 Wildcat Classic taking on Marquette at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available for both sessions, beginning at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
MATCH NOTES
Northwestern improves to 3-0 all-time against Charlotte, defeating the 49ers 3-0 in 2002 and 3-1 last season on the 49ers home court.
Moffett recorded the 70th solo block of her career, moving her into sole possession of ninth-place in the Wildcat record books. She also recorded her 100th kill of the season, sitting at 101 for the year.
Tonight's second set proved to be a memorable one for the Gray family as sisters Brittani Gray and Gabrielle Gray played together on the court at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the first time.
********************
Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats! -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Volleyball on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!