NU Tops Purple Aces for Fifth Straight Win

The Wildcats were led by a double-double from Hanna Lesiak, who registered 12 kills and 11 digs on the day. Kathryn Randorf also added 11 kills to help the offense. Temi Thomas-Ailara contributed 11 kills. On the defensive end, Megan Miller chipped in with 15 digs to go with six blocks from Desiree Becker.

Game Notes

» Lesiak had a match-high three aces in the win.

» Northwestern served up five aces on the way to a fourth-set victory.

» Hanna Lesiak had a team-high 12 kills for Northwestern.

» Northwestern got a match-high 15 digs from Megan Miller.

» Northwestern attackers were helped by a match-high 40 assists from Alexa Rousseau.

» NU recorded a season-high nine aces.

» The Wildcats 5-0 start is the best of the Shane Davis era and the program’s best start since 2014.

How It Happened

SET 1 | The Wildcats fell behind early, dropping a tough first set 25-19. Northwestern trailed by as many as six points as Evansville grabbed the advantage for good at 16-15 in a set that was tied up two times before the Purple Aces took over in the second half of the stanza.

SET 2 | Northwestern fought back from a first-set loss to take the second set 25-19, evening the match at 1-1. The Wildcats earned the set victory with the help of a strong performance on the attacking end. Northwestern put together a .313 attack percentage with 15 kills in the set win. The Wildcats ended on a strong note, stretching their lead to its largest point in the set to finish out the stanza. The Northwestern offense also got a boost from three aces in the stanza.

SET 3 | Northwestern grabbed another win in the third set to make it a 2-1 match. The Wildcats took control of the set early when the score was 6-5 and never looked back to win 25-14. Northwestern ended on a strong note, opening up its biggest lead of the stanza, 11 points, to close out the set.

SET 4 | Northwestern earned a match win with a 25-15 fourth-set victory, winning their third set in a row. A solid showing on the attacking side led the Wildcats to victory in the set. Northwestern registered a .435…