Southern Illinois University
Northwestern (Wildcat Classic)
Volleyball falls to Northwestern in Wildcat Classic
09/16/2005 | 12:00:00 | Women's Volleyball
Sept. 16, 2005
By Matt Crouch
www.SIUSalukis.com
EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern University used three games with a hitting percentage better than .300 to sweep Southern Illinois University Friday night in the teams' first match of the Wildcat Classic. The Salukis fell 30-26, 30-23, 30-23 to the Wildcats.
Although the scoreboard showed a loss, Saluki head coach Brenda Winkeler was pleased against SIU's play against a tough Northwestern team. The Wildcats sport a 7-1 record with the lone loss coming by the hands of a University of Arizona team that is currently ranked No. 20 in the CSTV/AVCA Division I Coaches Top 25 Poll.
"I am very pleased with our play tonight; it is one of the best performances of the year," said Winkeler. "Our passing game went really well in the first game. Tonight we took some good small steps to becoming a better team."
The Saluki offense was distributed evenly with Johannah Yutzy, Haley Hann and Katy DeWulf each posting seven kills. Hann also contributed eight digs and two aces to the saluki effort.
"Haley Hann did a great job passing tonight and Yutzy had a good hitting percentage in the first two games. That was a bright spot," said Winkeler.
Marissa Washington led the Dawgs with a .235 hitting percentage. She tallied five kills on 17 attacks with one error. Freshman Kristy Elswick led the team in digs with 10 while Holly Marita recorded a team-high 25 assists.
SIU (2-5) returns to action Saturday with a 12 p.m. match against Southeastern Conference member Kentucky (6-2), followed by a 7 p.m. match against Brown (0-5). Kentucky and Brown met in the early match Friday night with the Wildcats pulling out the 3-2 victory.
