EVANSTON, Ill. - The Northwestern volleyball team put together a .500 hitting percentage on the way to a 3-0 victory (25-13, 25-16, 25-20) against Northeastern Saturday at home at Welsh-Ryan Arena. The Wildcats improved to 3-0 this season and have not lost a set on the young campaign. NU's .500 hitting percentage is the fourth-highest recorded in a match in program history and the highest since the Wildcats logged a program-best .689 mark against Towson in 1998.
Northwestern has started a season 3-0 without dropping a set for the first time since 2015.
The Wildcats attack was paced by Kathryn Randorf, who finished with 15 kills on the day while accumulating a hitting percentage of .520, and by Desiree Becker, who had 10 while hitting .714. NU got 15 digs from Megan Miller to lead them defensively.
Wildcats Classic All-Tournament Team
Alexa Rousseau (MVP) - Northwestern
Desiree Becker - Northwestern
Leilani Dodson - Northwestern
Serena Patterson - UTEP
Hula Crisostomo - UTEP
Alexa Edwards - Pacific
Erica Staunton - Northeastern
Cat's sweep Northeastern to go 3-0 to start the season!??
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) August 27, 2022
K. Randorf - 15 kills, .520 H%
D. Becker - 10 kills, .769 H%
A. Rousseau - 38 assists, 10 digs
M. Miller- 15 digs pic.twitter.com/Og0ELIxFPc
Game Notes
» Northwestern attackers combined to hit .500 in the match.
» Alexa Rousseau had a match-high three aces in the win.
» Northwestern put together a strong attacking performance, notching 51 kills in the match.
» Northwestern never trailed on the way to winning the first set 25-13.
» Kathryn Randorf had a match-high 15 kills for Northwestern.
» Northwestern got a match-high 15 digs from Megan Miller.
» Northwestern attackers were helped by a match-high 38 assists from Alexa Rousseau.
How It Happened
SET 1 | The Wildcats grabbed control on the first point and never trailed to secure the first set 25-13. Northwestern opened up its biggest lead, 12 points, to finish off the set, collecting 17 kills with a .667 attack percentage while only committing one attack error in the set. Northwestern also supplemented their offense with three aces in the opening set.
SET 2 | After their win in the first set, Northwestern put themselves on the cusp of a sweep with a 25-16 victory in set number two. The Wildcats took the set thanks to a strong showing on the attacking end. Northwestern put together a .483 attack percentage with 17 kills in the set win. The Wildcats ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza. The Northwestern offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.
SET 3 | Northwestern took set three to finish off the match. The Wildcats took control of the set early when the score was 5-4 and held the lead the rest of the way to win 25-20. Northwestern led by six points at 18-12 before closing out the stanza, totaling 17 kills in the process.
The 'Cats continue their winning ways with dub No. 3??. ??@B1GVolleyball x @NUVball pic.twitter.com/v9uzH4cHwr
— Northwestern On BTN (@NUOnBTN) August 27, 2022
The Wildcats hit the road for the first time in 2022 next weekend when they travel to the Golden Eagle Invitational in Cookeville, Tenn. for three matches from Sept. 2-3.