Tim Nollan’s squad continues to trend upwards.
Evanston is feeling the winds of change that Northwestern volleyball is bringing to Welsh-Ryan Arena.
With five transfers and a lineage of first-year additions to the rotation, 2025 was set to be a “prove it” year for the Wildcats in Big Ten volleyball. After picking up five total wins a year ago, Tim Nollan went full-force in his search for new gears to add to the Northwestern machinery, and with a bit of elbow grease — in this case, summer practice — those gears have seemed to fit perfectly with the foundation of the purple machine thus far.
Riding the momentum of 10 wins in non-conference play — their best start to a season since 2022 — NU (10-3, 1-1 B1G) played hosts to Indiana (11-1, 2-0 B1G) last Wednesday in a primetime Big Ten volleyball matchup.
Out the gate, the ‘Cats and Hoosiers were engaged in a back-and-forth offensive masterclass. Six lead changes. 10 ties. And no team led by more than five at any point throughout the set.
After falling behind 11-6, Northwestern went on a 6-2 run to will itself back into contention. The ‘Cats would go on to score four unanswered points to take a 19-18 lead, but would be outscored 7-3 from that point on and drop the first set.
Set number two was all purple and white, with Northwestern jumping out to an 11-5 lead of their own, powered by a combined three service aces from Lauren Dignan and Lauren Carter. The hot start proved to be too much for Indiana, and Northwestern’s .560 hitting percentage would propel it to the match-evening victory.
The latter two sets of the ‘Cats conference debut were a far cry from the first two, as they made a combined 10 errors and hit well below the .200 mark, losing sets three and four by margins of six and seven, respectively, to give Indiana the 3-1 victory on the night.
A tough Northwestern loss, but not one to be spoken in vain, as there were bright spots where it showed its potential. The biggest example was the 13 digs from Dignan on the night — the second-highest single-game total of her young career, and a performance that could be seen as a positive turning point. This came on the heels of the second libero jersey transferring to Gigi Navarrete during the team’s road trip to Buffalo. Carter also shone in the contest with her first career double-double (22 assists, 10 digs).
That Northwestern potential was on full display in its Sunday afternoon matchup with the Oregon Ducks (9-3, 0-2 B1G), a squad that has just as much to prove in the Big Ten as NU with 14 new players of their own, alongside new head coach Trent Kersten.
Instead of waiting around for set two, the Wildcats came out of the gate strong, building a sizable 15-10 lead in the first set. However, Oregon came storming back out of a timeout, and in the blink of an eye, found themselves with a 21-19 lead following an 8-2 run.
Coming up huge in the set was the pairing of Ayah Elnady and Bella Simkus, who convened for a combo block to draw the set level at 21. From there, three Oregon errors and Rylen Reid’s fifth kill of the set gave Northwestern the 25-22 set one win.
The next set was another closely contested one, with the score even at 19 late. Despite that, NU was able to overcome the testy waters and win the set 25-21, powered by team totals of 12 kills and four blocks.
All eyes in Welsh-Ryan Arena fell on Nollan and company with a chance to secure their first Big Ten sweep since Nov. 25, 2023, against Illinois.
This is where chaos ensues, and boy, was it ever fun to watch.
Oregon was in control for much of the third set, with a lead that grew as large as five points. Then, facing a 21-16 deficit, the ‘Cats rattled off five points in a row to draw even, turning the back-end of the set into a dogfight. NU kept fighting from underneath, but narrowly lost out on what would’ve been a statement sweep after a Taylor Cora kill and a Kayla Kauffman attack error in succession gave the Ducks set three, 26-24.
NU led late in set four, 22-20, but errors from Bella Bullington and Carter allowed the Ducks to hang around. The set would extend far beyond 25 points, with NU unable to capitalize on four match-point opportunities. Clinching the set for the Ducks was Valentina Vaulet, playing arguably the best game of her career. The Oregon junior would finish with a career-high 28 kills to go along with six digs, three blocks, and two assists.
All of a sudden, Northwestern had been caught on its heels after dominating the majority of the match, and was in danger of being reverse-swept. However, a 6-0 scoring run for Northwestern in set five put all doubt to rest, as it would claim the largest margin of victory in the decisive set, 15-10, to hang on for its first conference win.
Putting on encores were Carter with her second consecutive double-double, and Reid with her 10th consecutive double-digit kill performance (14). Elnady would finish with the team’s high of 16 kills, her highest single-game total as a Wildcat, and following the upperclassmen in the kill category would be Bullington and Campbell Paris, each with 10 on the day. Bullington was also one of three Northwestern players to finish at or above the .500 hitting percentage mark during the contest.
The ‘Cats turn their attention to Michigan State, who they host on Friday, before the No. 12 Minnesota Golden Gophers arrive in Evanston on Sunday. Two of NU’s next four matchups will be against ranked opponents, the first against their aforementioned Sunday adversaries, and the second against Penn State, who claim the No. 13 spot.
Sunday’s rebound off a tough Wednesday loss is a bright sign for Northwestern volleyball, but this coming weekend will reveal where the ‘Cats lie amidst the conference.
Category: General Sports
