| Northwestern (13-8, 3-7 B1G) at Michigan (10-10, 5-5 B1G) |
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| Date | Time | October 31 | 6:00 p.m. CT |
| Location | Cliff Keen Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @NUVball  | Northwestern Volleyball  | @nu_volleyball  |
| Notes (PDF) | Northwestern | Michigan |
| Northwestern (13-8, 3-7 B1G) at Michigan State (12-9, 5-5 B1G) |
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| Date | Time | November 1 | 5:30 p.m. CT |
| Location | Jenison Field House | East Lansing, Mich. |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @NUVball | Northwestern Volleyball | @nu_volleyball |
| Notes (PDF) | Northwestern | Michigan State |
EVANSTON, Ill. -- In search of its first Big Ten win away from home this season, Northwestern hits the road this weekend to take on the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans in crucial conference clashes.
Opening Serve
Northwestern will continue its 38th season of intercollegiate volleyball when ventures out for its final Friday-Saturday road trip of the season. The Wildcats will open the weekend against the Michigan Wolverines on Friday night before traveling approxiately 65 miles to battle the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday, Nov. 1. Friday night marks NU's only tilt against the Wolverines this season, while the Spartans will invade Evanston on Nov. 19.
Going The Distance
After winning its first three five-set matches of the season, the Wildcats have gone the distance the last three times out, but have fallen short each time against Iowa, No. 13 Purdue and Indiana. Until this recent stretch, Northwestern had not played three consecutive five-set matches since the 2007 season. The 'Cats topped Michigan on Oct. 26 and Illinois on Nov. 2 before falling to Wisconsin on Nov. 3 that year. In the 15th season under the direction of Keylor Chan, NU has never played more than three consecutive five-set contests.
Career-High Clips
Several Wildcats turned in career-best performances over the past weekend. Libero Caroline Niedospial notched a career-high 34 digs against No. 13 Purdue, tying her for fourth place on NU's all-time, single-match, record list. Outside hitter Kayla Morin notched 22 kills on 59 swings against the Boilermakers, both career highs. In the same match, setter Taylor Tashima finished with 20 digs, nine kills (career highs) and 28 assists. The following night against Indiana the freshman eclipsed her short-lived high in kills by five for a new best mark of 14.
Homecoming Queens
Two players on Northwestern's current roster hail from the Great Lakes State. Sophomore Kayla Morin is from Portage, while freshman Symone Abbott calls Northville home. Both are key contributors for the Wildcats as Abbott currently leads the 'Cats with 3.32 kills per set, while Morin ranks second in both kills (2.72) and digs (2.37). Morin's father, Dave, is the head men's tennis coach at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo.
Digging In
Caroline Niedospial has been a strong anchor for Northwestern's back row this season. The Evergreen Park, Ill., native ranks second in the Big Ten with 5.00 digs per set in conference play and second overall with 4.76. On Oct. 24 against No. 13 Purdue, the libero notched a career-high 34 digs in a five-set match against the Boilermakers. Niedospial's 26 digs against Virginia on Sept. 13 helped her to claim her first-ever Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week Award behind the second-best output at Northwestern in a three-set match behind Kate Nobilio's 31 vs. Towson on Sept. 8, 2007. She has posted double-digit digs in 19 of 21 matches this season and 21 or more digs eight times. Niedospial has tallied at least 13 digs in all 10 Big Ten matches to date.
Weekend Wildcat Connections
Two members of the Northwestern volleyball family are tied to this weekend's opponents through their own family members. Sophomore defensive specialist Candice Yager has an older sister, Catherine, who lettered at Michigan from 2009-11. Head coach Keylor Chan's wife, Maren (nee Witzel), lettered with the Michigan State Spartans from 1998-2000 and was a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.
For more notes and information about this weekend's matches, please download the PDF files above.
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