Balanced Offense Leads Musketeers to 3-0 Win Over Northwestern

Saturday, September 3

Dayton, Ohio

4 p.m.

Xavier University

3-3

Northwestern

4-2

Xavier

Northwestern

Balanced Offense Leads Musketeers to 3-0 Win Over Northwestern

09.03.16 | Volleyball

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Three Xavier players had 10 or more kills in the win

By: Greg Lautzenheiser, Xavier Athletic Communications

DAYTON, Ohio – Xavier volleyball had three players record 10 or more kills on Saturday evening as the Musketeers defeated Northwestern in three sets. The match was the final contest of the Dayton Invitational for the Musketeers.

The Musketeers improve to 3-3 on the year, while the Wildcats drop to 4-2. Both teams went 1-2 during tournament action over the weekend.

MATCH NOTES

• Xavier moves to 1-0 in the all-time series against Northwestern. The Musketeers are now 1-1 against Big Ten schools this year with one more matchup remaining against Purdue later this season.

• Xavier had three players with 10 or more kills in a match for the second time this season with the other coming in the Musketeers' season opener versus Missouri State.

• Abbey Bessler recorded a match-high 13 kills to go along with 11 digs. The senior outside hitter also posted a .385 hitting percentage.

• Sofia Peterson and Kristen Massa both added 10 kills. Peterson posted a .474 hitting percentage and chipped in two blocks.

• Mackenzi Humm dished out a match-high 21 assists, while McKena Estes had 14. Meredith Klare also had a match-high 13 digs.

• Xavier hit .277 in the win, while limiting the Wildcats to a .146 attack percentage. Both teams have five blocks in the match.

SET ONE

• Xavier hit .382 in the opening frame and recorded 17 kills. Abbey Bessler was one of six players with multiple kills with five. The outside hitter also added four digs and hit .714.

SET TWO

• The second set had four ties with the final tie at 15-15. Xavier closed the second set on a 10-3 run to capture the frame.

• The Musketeers hit .324 in the set and got five kills from Sofia Peterson. The senior right side hitter also hit .556.

SET THREE

• Xavier led by as many as nine, 13-4, before Northwestern chipped away its deficit to pull ahead, 21-20. The Musketeers responded by closing the set on a 5-1 run.

• Abbey Bessler had six kills, while Kristen Massa added five.

TOURNAMENT NOTES

• Abbey Bessler led Xavier with 52 total kills over the weekend, averaging 4.73 k/s. The senior added a .256 hitting percentage and 20 digs.

• Defensively, Alexis Newsome led Xavier with 15 total blocks – averaging 1.36 b/s. Meredith Klare added a team-high 48 digs.

• Sofia Peterson hit .379 and averaged 2.55 k/s. Kristen Massa and Lauren Frilling combined to add 42 kills over the weekend.

UP NEXT

• Xavier returns to action on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at Miami (OH). First serve is slated for 7 p.m.