No. 10 Wisconsin Survives Inspired Northwestern Comeback Effort, 3-2
Nov. 10, 2006
MADISON, Wis. -- No. 10 Wisconsin took the first two games of Friday night's match at the Wisconsin Field House, but Northwestern came storming back to win the next two before the Badgers prevailed by literally an inch in game five of an amazing five-game match, 30-23, 30-19, 24-30, 29-31, 15-13. With the loss, the 'Cats fall to 13-11 overall, 7-8 in the Big Ten. The loss snaps NU's three-match winning streak. The Badgers improve to 20-5 on the season, 12-3 in the conference. In game one, Northwestern went on a 6-1 run midway through to create a three-point lead, 16-13, and force Wisconsin's first timeout of the match. Sophomore Chelsy Hyser (Belvidere, Ill./Belvidere) had three kills during the spurt for the 'Cats. The Badgers came back to knot the score, 18-18, and Wildcats' head coach Keylor Chan opted to use a timeout. UW continued its run to take a three-point lead of its own, 22-19, and Chan called his second timeout of the game. Northwestern was unable to stem the Wisconsin momentum, falling in the first game, 30-23. Northwestern scored the first two points of game two on a Hyser kill and a block by Hyser and Stephanie Jurivich (LaGrange, Ill./St. Ignatius), but Wisconsin notched the next seven points to take a 7-2 lead and force an NU timeout. Things did not get much better, with the Wildcats using their second timeout after the Badger lead hit eight, 17-9. Northwestern brought the lead back down to five, 20-15, but Wisconsin poured on the heat and ran away with a 30-19 game two victory.
Game three was much closer from the beginning, with a Northwestern 4-0 run giving the visitors a 16-12 lead to cause the first timeout of the game from Wisconsin. Courtnie Paulus (Belgium, Wis./Ozaukee) had a pair of kills, and a block by Jurivich and Hyser capped the spurt.
The Wildcats extended that lead to six, 20-14, with the help of a Hyser solo block and kill, forcing the Badgers second timeout of the game. UW came out of the break and cut the lead in half, 21-18, and Chan used his first timeout of the third game. With the Badgers within one, 25-24, the Wildcats reeled off five-consecutive kills to take game three, 30-24. Lindsay Anderson (Wilmette, Ill./New Trier) contributed three while Paulus and Jurivich each had one. Game four also was tight at the start, with Wisconsin opening the first decent lead at 13-10. Northwestern immediately tied, 13-13, after a kill and a solo block by Brittney Aldridge (Hampshire, Ill./Hampshire) and an ace from Anderson. The Badgers notched the next three points, however, to force a Wildcat timeout with the score 16-13 in favor of the home squad. Wisconsin tried to pull away several times, but Northwestern kept them close until a 3-0 mini-spurt gave the Badgers a five-point lead, 22-17, and the Wildcats used their second timeout. Northwestern came storming back into the game with blocks. A solo from Aldridge and two blocks by Aldridge and Anderson helped push NU back to within one, 23-22, and Wisconsin used a timeout. The Wildcats tied the score, 24-24, on a Badger hitting error. UW then crept out to a 28-25 lead, but NU pulled back to within one again, 28-27. The Badgers then got a match-point try, 29-27, but Paulus slammed home a kill to make the score 29-28. Anderson and Hyser then blocked an attack to knot the score, 29-29, before a Hyser kill gave NU a game-point attempt, 30-29. Completing the comeback, Hyser notched a solo block to force a fifth game, 31-29. Wisconsin scored the first three points of game five before Northwestern reeled off the next six to take a 6-3 lead and force a Badger timeout. Kills from Anderson, Aldridge and Julie Purcell (Louisville, Ky./Assumption) combined with a pair of blocks by Aldridge and Paulus propelled the run. The Wildcats maintained the three-point lead, 8-5, heading into the side switch. The Badgers then came back to take the lead, 10-9, and force an NU timeout. Paulus immediately killed an attack out of the break to knot the score, 10-10. The two teams traded points back and forth, but a Wildcat attack error gave the hosts a two-point lead, 13-11. Wisconsin earned match point, 14-12, but Anderson staved it off with a kill. The Badgers then were awarded a kill that appeared to clip the back line to win the game, 15-13, and the match, 3-2. Anderson led the Wildcats with 18 kills, recording a double-double with 11 digs as well. Hyser had 12 blocks and 11 kills for the first double-double of her career. Purcell added 13 kills and Aldridge contributed 10. Kate Nobilio (Johnsburg, Ill./Johnsburg) had a match-best 24 digs, while Paulus added 10. Jurivich finished with 52 assists. Northwestern returns to action at 8 p.m. CT Saturday, Nov. 11 at No. 13 Minnesota. |
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