NU To Play No. 4 Illinois, No. 7 Penn State

11/13/2018 5:06:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

2018 NORTHWESTERN VOLLEYBALL
DATE	OPPONENT	TIME (CT)	LOCATION	WATCH	LISTEN	LIVE STATS
Wednesday, Nov. 14	No. 4 Illinois	7 p.m.	The New Welsh-Ryan Arena (Evanston, Ill.)	BTN Plus	N/A	NUsports
Saturday, Nov. 17	No. 7 Penn State	6 p.m.	Rec Hall (University Park, Pa.)	BTN Plus	N/A	GoPSUSports
Social: Twitter (@NUVBall and @NU_SportsLive) \| Instagram (@NUVBall) \| Facebook Northwestern Match Notes

EVANSTON, Ill. — Winners of four out of their last six, Northwestern volleyball will play both at home and on the road this week. Northwestern students in attendance at the match against No. 4 Illinois will receive free hot chocolate and donut bites in addition to limited-edition long-sleeve shirts!

News and notes...

NICE PLAYING!: Northwestern volleyball is in the midst of its 43rd season of intercollegiate competition ... The 'Cats have won four of their last six matches and will be taking on #4 Illinois at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Nov. 14 and then will travel to face #7 Penn State on Nov. 17.

WHO? WHAT!: Northwestern is matching up with both the Fighting Illini and the Nittany Lions for the second times this season ... NU battled with PSU only last week in the opener of the new Welsh-Ryan Arena ... NU and UI played in Champaign on Oct. 6.

BUMP, SET, SPIKE: Sophomore Nia Robinson has been one of the Big Ten's most prolific scorers, as her 3.87 kills per set mark is tied for fifth in the conference, trailing only Jacqueline Quade (ILL), Erika Pritchard (MD), Carly Skjodt (UM), and Sherridan Atkinson (PUR).

BIG THANK YOU TO BEARDSLEY: On Sunday Oct. 28, the Wildcats played their final home match at historic Beardsley Gym ... NU played at Evanston Township High School's home gym for the 2017 season, in addition to the first six home matches of the 2018 year.

WELCOME HOME: Northwestern played its first two matches at the new Welsh-Ryan arena this past weekend. The Arena has undergone $110 million in renovations in order to deliver a world-class experience for student-athletes and fans alike.

WHAT IS A 'YOUT?': The Northwestern squad is comprised of six first years, seven sophomores, four juniors, and no seniors.

That means that 13 out of 17 players on the team are underclassmen (76 percent). In the Big Ten, only Michigan State (12-of-15 players) surpasses Northwestern's clip — but the raw number of 13 are the most underclassmen on any single Big Ten roster.

TEAM TRIVIA: Northwestern has allowed the fourth-fewest digs per set by opponents (13.39) in Big Ten play.

DOING NUMBERS: Britt Bommer notched a career-high 69 assists against Iowa (Oct. 24), the most in a single match by any player in the nation this season ... Her output is the eighth-most in NU history and the most since Liz Renius posted 77 on Nov. 28, 1997.

RANKING RUMBLINGS: According to PrepVolleyball.com, Northwestern's Class of 2022 is the 18th-best recruiting class in the nation.

IS 300 WINS A LOT? IT SEEMS LIKE A LOT: With a 3-0 sweep over Michigan State, NU head coach Shane Davis, amassed his 300th career win, between both Loyola and Northwestern.

CAN YOU DIG IT?: Local product Michelle Lee (Naperville, Ill.) owns a 3.39 digs per set clip, good for fourth-best in the Big Ten among rookies.

YEAH, THAT'S A BIG NUMBER: Sophomore Alana Walker posted a hitting percentage of .900 in NU's win over Colgate on Aug. 31 ... She had nine kills on 10 swings with no errors ... The output was the second-best in Wildcat history, trailing only Kim Ludwig's .917 clip against Milwaukee on Sept. 17, 1994.

DOUBLE YOUR LUCK: Five different players have posted 14 double-doubles, led by Kiara McNulty's seven, most recently against Rutgers (Nov. 10).

PUNCTUATED EQUILIBRIUM: This is the third season under head coach Shane Davis, a two-time national champion head coach while helming the men's volleyball team at Loyola-Chicago. His .750 winning percentage with the Ramblers is the sixth-best in NCAA men's volleyball history among coaches with five or more seasons.

Davis brought with him the leadership of associate head coach Erin Virtue and assistant coach Kevin Moore — both of whom are also in their third seasons in their role.

ROAD WARRIORS: The Wildcats played their first 14 matches on the road until NU's contest against Nebraska at historic Beardsley Gym.