EVANSTON, Ill. (November 25, 2023) - Northwestern capped off the 2023 regular season with an emphatic 25-15, 25-15, 25-16 sweep of in-state rival Illinois (16-14, 11-9 B1G) this evening on Senior Night inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
With tonight's result, the Wildcats close their regular season slate at 15-15 overall and 9-11 in Big Ten Conference play. The nine victories in league play are the most for the program since the 2010 season.
Sent the seniors out ???? ??????????! ?? ??#GoCats | @B1GVolleyball pic.twitter.com/aXzB49jj2B
— Northwestern Volleyball (@NUVball) November 26, 2023
How It Happened
SET 1 | In what developed into a theme on the evening, Northwestern started fast in set one. Following an Averie Hernandez service ace that gave the 'Cats a 3-1 edge, Maddy Chinn and Leilani Dodson teamed up for a block on the outside to push the gap to 6-2. Illinois trimmed the lead to 8-7 after rattling off three unanswered points, but Julia Sangiacomo answered with an ace of her own to reestablish a three-point margin, 10-7. Back-to-back Sangiacomo kills punctuated a 5-0 tear that created separation for Northwestern, 17-10. Hernandez closed the frame with consecutive kills of her own as the 'Cats cruised to a 25-15 win.
SET 2 | Illinois looked to flip the script from set one, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, but the Fighting Illini were quickly reeled back in. Back-to-back Hernandez service aces knotted the score up at 3-3 ahead of 5-0 run fueled by four Sangiacomo kills, the last of which gave Northwestern a 7-4 advantage. Three straight Illinois attack errors saw the gap grow to 12-7 before kills from Chinn and Kennedy Hill, respectively, capped off a 6-1 surge that pushed the margin to 22-10 en route to another 25-15 victory.
SET 3 | Hernandez continued her pinpoint work from the service line in set three, dealing her fourth ace of the evening to stake Northwestern to a 2-0 lead. Sangiacomo and Dodson joined up on the block shortly after, pushing the margin to 5-1. Illinois hung tough, chipping its deficit down to one on a handful of occasions as the set wore on. With the Wildcats clinging to an 11-10 lead, two Sangiacomo kills provided the bookends to a 5-1 spurt that included an Ellee Stinson service ace, as the 'Cats extended their advantage to 16-11. Illinois would never threaten the rest of the way, with a Chinn and Hill tandem block putting the exclamation point on a 25-16 triumph.
Game Notes
» Sangiacomo spearheaded the Northwestern attack, finishing with 16 kills while operating at a .326 (16-2-43) clip from the floor.
» Tonight's effort marked Sangiacomo's 21st match in double figures in kills in 2023.
» Hernandez, who posted four kills, finished with a career-high tying four service aces.
» Hill continued to be a force at the net, putting up a match-high five blocks.
» Stinson led Northwestern with 15 digs, in addition to a service ace.
» Stinson has reached the 15-dig mark six times in three-set matches this season.
» Alexa Rousseau flirted with a double-double, closing her night with 24 assists and eight digs.
» Raina Terry paced Illinois with 13 kills, but was held to just an .081 (13-10-37) hitting percentage by the Wildcats.
This article created using technology provided by Data Skrive.