| No. 24 Northwestern (13-2, 3-1 B1G) at No. 5 Penn State (15-2, 3-1 B1G) |
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| Date | Time | October 8 | 6:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Rec Hall | University Park, Pa. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Watch Live | BTN and BTN2GO (Mike Wolf and Liz Tortorello-Nelson) |
| Social Media | @NUVball  | Northwestern Volleyball  | @nu_volleyball  |
| Notes (PDF) | Northwestern | Penn State |
| Shop | |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- No. 24 Northwestern won eight of nine matches on its longest homestand of the season that ended Sunday, and now the Wildcats begin a four-match road trip on Wednesday night against the defending national champions, No. 5 Penn State.
Poll Presence
After receiving votes in five consecutive editions, Northwestern finally cracked the top 25 in the weekly AVCA coaches poll on Monday. The Wildcats check in at No. 24 this week following a takedown of 18th-ranked Minnesota at home on Sunday. Until this week, the `Cats had not appeared in the top 25 since Nov. 15, 2010 when they were recognized for the eighth consecutive week. Northwestern was slotted at 22 in the first RPI of the season that was released the same day.
Hitting Their Stride
After hitting .216 as a team in 2013, the Wildcats have increased their hitting percentage to .273 through 15 matches this season. That number ranks fifth in the deep and talented Big Ten Conference, but its good enough for 19th in the NCAA this week. Individually, middle blocker Katie Dutchman is leading the Purple and White with a hitting percentage of .415, ranking third in the Big Ten and 15th in the country. On the other side of the net, Northwestern's opponents attacked at a clip of .228 a year ago, but that number is down to just .155. The 'Cats rank second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage behind Penn State, and 27th overall in the nation.
Abbott Adds Another Weekly Award
For the second consecutive week and the third time in four weeks, one of Northwestern's talented newcomers took home Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors on Monday. Outside hitter Symone Abbott claimed the accolade this week after averaging 5.7 kills per set in two matches against No. 6 Wisconsin and No. 18 Minnesota. In NU's three-set victory over the Golden Gophers on Oct. 5, Abbott buried a career-high 21 kills and hit .319 on the day. Freshman setter Taylor Tashima was named the conference's Freshman of the Week on Sept. 29, while Abbott won her first award on Sept. 15 after a strong performance at the Wildcat Classic.
Digging In
Redshirt junior libero Caroline Niedospial has been a strong anchor for Northwestern's back row this season. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native leads all players in Big Ten matches with 5.71 digs per set, and ranks second in all matches with 4.79. Niedospial, who owns 995 career digs entering the week, has three of the top five dig performances in three-set matches in program history, including two this year. She collected 25 digs on Sunday against No. 18 Minnesota, and also on Sept. 22, 2013 against IUPUI. Niedospial's 26 digs against Virginia on Sept. 13 helped her to claim her first-ever Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award. That was the second-best ouput at Northwestern in a three-set match behind Kate Nobilio's 31 (vs. Towson, Sept. 8, 2007). Niedospial is seeking to become the 16th Wildcat in program history to record 1,000 career digs.
B1G Start
Northwestern has won three of its first four Big Ten matches this season for the first time since the 2010 campaign. This season marks the third time in 15 years under head Keylor Chan that the Wildcats have opened conference play by winning 75 percent of their first four contests. The 'Cats also did so in 2010 and 2002, and both of those seasons culminated with NCAA Tournament appearances.
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