Two Wildcats reached double figures in kills, including Symone Abbott‘s match-high 15, but it wasn’t enough as Northwestern dropped the Big Ten opener on the road at Indiana.
The Wildcats (7-6, 0-1) fell in four sets despite outhitting the Hoosiers.
“Tonight, we figured out a little bit that we have to do well in the serve-and-pass game to win in the Big Ten,” head coach Shane Davis said. “We hit well, and we blocked well, but we gave away too many free opportunities.
“Anybody can beat anybody in the Big Ten, and we just have to get better at being more consistent throughout the entire match.”
Gabrielle Hazen was incredibly efficient Wednesday night, notching eight kills on just 11 attempts. She also had four blocks. Rafae Strobos reached double digits in kills with 10 and added six digs.
Northwestern outhit Indiana in the match, .306 to .304.
Taylor Tashima‘s 27 assists put her just six away from 7th-place on the all-time list at Northwestern.
The defense came up big with 10 blocks, but the match was largely decided in the serving game, where Indiana had 11 aces.
Northwestern got its set win in exciting fashion in the third. The Hoosiers were up 25-24, but the ‘Cats fought off match point and rattled off three in a row on two kills and a block to take the set, 27-25.
Chicago’s Big Ten Team heads home for the first time this season when it hosts No. 17 Penn State on Sunday at 1 p.m. inside Welsh-Ryan Arena.
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