In nearly every case, a combined record of 32-59 over three seasons is considered a large disappointment.
And Carmen Burbach wouldn't argue. When the senior outside hitter committed to the Wildcats those three difficult years ago, she came with the thought of helping Northwestern rise to another level.
As the record indicates, that wasn't to be.
"Obviously, looking back on the last three years, it was disappointing," Burbach said. "But one player is not going to make a program a whole lot better."
But she sees more to those numbers than most people do. Where one might consider her talents on the volleyball court wasted, she prefers to think of her career as a learning experience.
Regardless of how much she wanted the team to improve during her career, or how much the team struggled, she never lost focus of the reason most students go to college -- to get education.
Coming out of Scotus Central Catholic in Nebraska, there were opportunities to go to more successful programs. Top schools, such as Texas, Kansas State, Michigan State, Colorado and Nebraska, were all under consideration.
Then again, which school wouldn't want the class president and multi-sport star? Burbach led her high school volleyball and basketball teams to six combined state championship games, winning three of them. Her volleyball team compiled a 103-3 record during her four years and she was a two-time all-state honoree.
But she turned down those other schools. Even in-state Nebraska, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation at the moment, did not compare to what Northwestern had to offer for her future.
"I chose (Northwestern) mainly because it was the best academic school that recruited me," Burbach said. "I knew what was going to take me the farthest in life was the education I received."
And things are working out just fine for the psychological services major. In both her sophomore and junior years, she earned Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Ever since her freshman season, she has played a significant role on the team. She placed second and third on the team in digs and kills, respectively, that first year.
Just recently, on Sept. 8 against Oregon, Burbach reached a volleyball milestone. With her 14-kill effort, she became only the seventh Northwestern player with at least 1,000 kills.
"I didn't even know I did it until after the game," Burbach said. "It's exciting. But I have to credit a lot of my teammates. Someone has to pass the ball, and someone has to set it first."
Later this season, if all goes well, she will be able to become just the fifth Wildcat to record 1,000 digs in addition to the 1,000 kills.
However, even bigger than her statistics is her presence.
Freshman Erika Lange, who was voted most valuable player in last weekend's Wildcat Classic, said Burbach has been vital to whatever success the team has had this season, not to mention Lange's own personal success.
"She has been very important," Lange said.
"She really holds this team together on the floor."
Once again, that success has been limited so far this season for Burbach and her teammates. Northwestern began the season with a 0-7 record.
"We all have worked really hard," Burbach said. "So that's what is most disappointing about our record."
But the team continued to fight hard and, eventually, it paid off. In the Wildcat Classic, the team ran off three straight victories to win the tournament.
The momentum from the winning streak has both Burbach and first-year coach Keylor Chan more optimistic heading into Big Ten conference play.
"We're playing a lot of young kids and we're just looking to get better each and every match," Chan said.
"And I think that's going to happen this year."
And Burbach will be a key ingrediant in making that happen.
She realizes there is a tremendous opportunity to get the program rolling in her final year, something she would have liked to do earlier in her career, with a win over No. 3 Penn State this weekend.
"The good thing going into this game is we've played some other top teams," Burbach said.
"A win over Penn State would do wonders for our program."
