One step forward, one step back. The story of Northwestern volleyball in 2025.
The ‘Cats (16-14, 6-12 B1G) took to a different time zone for the final time in 2025, taking on Ohio State (6-20, 3-15 B1G) and 11th-ranked Purdue (23-5, 14-4 B1G). They’d win the first and lose the second, both matches being decided in four sets.
Pacing NU over the weekend in the attack was Rylen Reid, with 24 total kills, closing in on graduate transfer Ayah Elnady for the team lead. Elnady was one short of the team high
with 23 across both matches.
First-year Lauren Dignan led all ‘Cats liberos in digs over the weekend with 20. Gigi Navarette followed up with 17, and Drew Wright rounded out the group with 16.
Despite losing five of its last six matches, NU’s win over the Buckeyes snapped a four-game skid, with the ‘Cats last win previously coming against Maryland on Nov. 2.
Northwestern 3, Ohio State 1 (Nov. 21)
Northwestern’s road win in The Buckeye State was a complete team effort: three players tied for a team-high 14 kills, while three tied for a team-high 11 digs.
The X-factor, however, proved to be Reid, who was the only common name between the two groups.
Kayla Kauffman led the defensive front with seven total blocks, tying her season-high for the second consecutive game and the sixth time this season.
Set one could only be characterized as Wildcat dominance. After Reese Wuebker claimed the match’s first point for Ohio State, Northwestern scored eight of the next 10 contested points. Campbell Paris and Reid chipped in two kills apiece during that stretch, with Reid adding an assisted block to her early statline.
After a brief 3-0 Buckeye run, the ‘Cats went off for seven unanswered, creating an insurmountable 15-6 lead. Three kills from Bella Bullington would fuel Northwestern to a 25-15 set one win.
The ‘Cats owned five of the set’s six service aces: three from Reid, two from Drew Wright and one from Ayah Elnady.
Set two seemed to be Ohio State’s revival, as the Buckeyes jumped out to an 8-5 lead and forced the ‘Cats out of their habitat and into a dogfight. The set featured 10 ties and four lead changes, but the Buckeyes were in the driver’s seat for much of the set.
However, it seemed as though they’d chop themselves down and lose when another Northwestern serve gave Kaitlyn Hoffman trouble on the receiving end and found the floor. The play gave NU a 25-24 lead, but with Ohio State’s backs against the wall, Hoffman’s teammates picked up the slack and rattled off three consecutive points for the win. Na’Vea Gauthier got the better of Reid on a kill, and Hannah Jones and Ashley Carr stopped Elnady at the net before Carr ended things with a kill to win 27-25.
The final two sets were just as close. Not much margin of error for the ‘Cats, but they made do with their opportunities to succeed.
After falling behind in set three, NU strung together seven consecutive points to propel itself ahead 12-6. OSU went on a 5-1 run of its own to stay in it, but four Wildcat service aces and three blocks proved to be the difference. NU took the set, 25-23, to go up 2-1.
Ohio State felt the sense of urgency to push the contest to a fifth set and wasted no time in ramping up the attack. Half of the first eight points for the Buckeyes went down as kills, while half of the remaining points were courtesy of service aces from Olivia Hasbrook and Mia Tuman.
Northwestern clawed back as it has done all season, storming back from down 8-4 to take a 16-15 lead. Paris led the effort with three kills during that span, but from that point on, it had already become the Bella Bullington show.
The first-year, who had picked up the previous two kills, raked in each of NU’s next two to give her squad the advantage. Lauren Carter soon after added a service ace to pad the Northwestern lead to two. She’d erase half of it with a service error right after, but Elnady made up for her mistake by finding the floor, winning the race to 20 for the Wildcats.
Two Ohio State errors made all the difference in NU’s 25-22 match-clinching set four victory. Jones missed the mark on an attack and Tuman misfired on a serve, allowing Campbell and Reid to capitalize and bring the ‘Cats to match point. Wuebker squandered a set from Tuman, ending the contest and giving the ‘Cats win number six on the season.
Northwestern 1, No. 11 Purdue 3 (Nov. 23)
Northwestern’s match against Purdue seemed as if were split into two: the ‘Cats were extremely competitive through the first two sets, but lost steam and faded in sets three and four.
To start set one, the Boilermakers were firmly in the driver’s seat, leading through the first 11 contested points of the game and then going on a 7-0 run to give themselves a 13-6 cushion — a sign of what was to come later on.
At that point, the ‘Cats had a lot of fight left in them, and they clawed back into contention to cut the deficit to two. Elnady led the way with three service aces during the comeback effort, the last making the score 16-14 in favor of the Boilermakers.
Kenna Wollard would respond with three kills to help keep Northwestern at bay, and one more point of breathing room is all Purdue needed to win the first set, 25-22.
Set two was even better for the Wildcats, resulting in victory. Bullington’s versatility came in clutch for Northwestern, as her six kills were the engine in the 26-24 win.
After relinquishing four of the first five points to begin that set, two kills from Reid and one from Paris saw NU reduce the Purdue advantage to 5-4, but once again, the Boilermakers went on the run. Five straight points from their adversaries put the ‘Cats in an 11-5 hole, but NU would go on a run of its own.
Reid started it off with a kill before Bullington rejected Akasha Anderson at the net. She found the floor from the pin on the next play, and after a Purdue score, Elnady got in on the action with a kill in response.
The first-year opposite hitter finished the run with another kill. Purdue 12, Northwestern 10.
The teams went back-and-forth until two consecutive Purdue service errors tied the set at 17. Bullington came up huge for the ‘Cats, exchanging points with the Boilermakers’ Lindsey Miller and Anderson to keep NU on top. Paris added another kill to give the ‘Cats set point, 24-22.
But Grace Heaney extended the set for her team, finding the floor twice to draw Purdue level.
With Northwestern needing two points to take its first set of the night, Carter turned to NU’s two best outside hitters in Reid and Elnady to finish things off, and they delivered.
However, the next two sets were knockout victories for the Boilermakers.
After jumping out to an 8-5 lead, a kill, an ace and a block erased the three-point deficit for Purdue. The ‘Cats stayed in the fight for a short bit, but the host squad revved its engine and finished the set on a 15-4 run, winning 25-14.
That run carried right into the final set of the night, as Purdue claimed the first four points. Elnady and Reid tried to spark the ‘Cats as they’d done in set two, but it was not to be for NU.
Purdue led the entire way, dominating the set with 19 kills and three service aces. Add in two NU attack errors, and that brought the Boilermakers a 25-11 win, ending the match 3-1.
After the tough loss, the ‘Cats have two more difficult matchups in their near future: No. 10 Wisconsin at home and Illinois on the road. Northwestern seeks its first ranked win of 2025 before looking to avenge an earlier regular-season loss to the Illini to end the year.
