Northwestern
Wisconsin
Wildcats Fall To Wisconsin 3-2
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 26, 2003
MADISON, Wis. -
Sept. 26, 2003
MADISON, Wis. - Northwestern couldn't break even in their second Big Ten match of 2003, falling to the Wisconsin Badgers 3-2 (30-27, 30-27, 25-30, 15-30, 12-15) on Friday night. The Wildcats are now 9-5 overall, 0-2 in conference play.
"This was a great match for the audience," said head coach Keylor Chan. "Wisconsin got some confidence as the match went on and it is much easier coming back at home."
Northwestern fell behind 9-4 early in game one before chipping away at the Badgers' lead, taking the 15-14 lead. The Wildcats were ahead by as much as five through the second half of the game, winning it 30-27 on an out-of-bounds Wisconsin serve.
Game two started the same for Northwestern, falling behind 6-3 early until inching their way back and taking the 11-10 lead. Wisconsin never held the lead again in the game, tying it 21-21, but watched as the Wildcats pulled ahead again late in the game. NU had at least a two-point cushion through the remainder of the game, winning it again by a score of 30-27 on an out-of-bounds serve by the Badgers.
For the first time in the match, Northwestern was playing catch-up throughout game three, only holding a brief one-point lead early in the game. Wisconsin held six-point leads four times late in the game, with the Wildcats pulling within three to close the game 30-26.
Wisconsin then took over in game four, handing the Wildcats a 30-15 loss. The Badgers held an early 8-2 lead over NU, extending their lead to as much as 14 points before the winning point.
The decisive game 5 started on Wisconsin's serve, with the Wildcats going up by one. Both teams held leads in the game, with the teams tied at 11 late. The Badgers took the lead at 12 and never looked back, taking the game 15-12.
"Wisconsin has great tradition, and we are building that at NU," said Chan. "Even these losses will help us as a team and help us in building our tradition."
Northwestern will travel to Minnesota and Iowa next weekend with game times scheduled for 7 p.m. both nights.
