Wildcats Begin Homestand With Purdue and Iowa

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern kicks-off a four match home-stand this weekend, welcoming No. 12 Purdue and Iowa to Evanston. Friday’s matchup at 8 p.m. CT against Purdue will be televised on BTN with Anne-Marie Anderson (play-by-play) and Emily Ehman (analyst) on the call, while Sunday’s 1 p.m. CT battle against Iowa will air on B1G+.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Wildcats (15-7, 4-6 B1G) were victorious in both of their matchups on the road last weekend, toppling Rutgers 3-1 on Friday and sweeping Maryland 3-0 on Sunday. First-year setter Sienna Noordermeer tallied 80 assists on the weekend.

Temi Thomas-Ailara was named Co-Big Ten Player of the Week after averaging a team-best 5.29 k/s (37 kills) on the weekend. The senior posted 19 kills and five digs while hitting .357 against Rutgers on Friday. Thomas-Ailara logged 18 kills and four digs on a .342 hitting percentage against Maryland, and led NU’s offense to a .282 hitting percentage on the week.Thomas-Ailara ranks third in the Big Ten this season averaging 4.08 k/s. 

 

‘Cat Facts

• Northwestern won back-to-back Big Ten road matches for the first time since 2019.
• It is their first time winning back-to-back Big Ten contests since defeating Rutgers twice to open the 2020 campaign.
• The ‘Cats are averaging 17.60 points per set, trailing only Wisconsin (18.38) for the Big Ten lead.
• The Wildcats rank second in the Big Ten, registering a .261 hitting percentage, only .009 off from Wisconsin’s leading mark of .270.
• Northwestern leads the Big Ten in both kills per set (13.95-tied) and assists per set (13.04).
• Temi Thomas-Ailara is third in the conference averaging 4.08 kills per set. Her 1,362 career kills are the second-most among active B1G players, trailing only Penn State’s Kashauna Williams (1,409). Thomas-Ailara ranks 11th in program history in career kills. She is 34 kills away from tying Jessica…