Wildcats Set to Take On Indiana and Michigan St.

EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern travels to Bloomington to take on Indiana on Friday, Nov. 18 at 6 p.m. CT, before returning home to host Michigan State at Welsh-Ryan Arena on Sunday, Nov. 20 at 1 p.m. CT. Both matches will be streamed live on B1G+.
 
Last Time Out
 
The Wildcats (17-11, 6-10 B1G) dropped two matches on the road last weekend, falling to Michigan in four sets on Friday and Michigan State on Saturday.

Defensive specialist Grace Reininga filled in at setter for the Wildcats and tallied a match-high 37 assists against Michigan and 18 helpers against Michigan State. Temi Thomas-Ailara tallied 30 kills on the weekend. Defensively against the Spartans, NU had two players reach double figures in digs as Ellee Stinson had 18 and Megan Miller had 12. From the front row, Leilani Dodson contributed five blocks. Miller also led the ‘Cats with 13 digs against Michigan.

 

‘Cat Facts

• The Wildcats lead the conference with 1,374 kills on the season.
• The ‘Cats leads the Big Ten with 1,729 points this season.
• Northwestern ranks second in Big Ten in assists per set (12.74) and kills per set (13.60).
• Thomas-Ailara is third in the conference averaging 4.27 kills per set. Her 1,475 career kills are the second-most among active B1G players, trailing only Penn State’s Kashauna Williams (1,495). She is six kills away from tying Dawn Reig (1980-83) for the seventh most in program history. 
• Northwestern is 13-2 when hitting above .200. and 8-2 when recording nine or more blocks.
• The Wildcats 16 wins this season are the most in a year since 2018 (16-16).
• The ‘Cats are 3-1 in five-set matches.

Opposition Position
 
Northwestern is 39-35 against Indiana in program history, sweeping the season series against the Hoosiers last season. The Wildcats are 37-41 all-time against the Spartans, including a loss last weekend. The ‘Cats rank ahead…