Thursday, Oct. 29 at Illinois:
Northwestern volleyball fell just short in a five-set battle against in-state opponent Illinois (15-7, 7-4 B1G) on Thursday. Despite struggling in Big Ten play, the Wildcats pushed the Fighting Illini throughout the night at Huff Hall in Champaign.
Northwestern came out strong, taking the first set 25-22 before Illinois evened the match and flipped the score with a 25-22 second-set win. The ‘Cats responded offensively in the third to take another 25-22 set and lead 2-1.
Illinois took control in the fourth set, jumped out to an early lead, and forced a deciding fifth set with a 25-15 win. Northwestern initially answered the Illini’s momentum in the fifth set, cutting the deficit to one after trailing 4-0. But Illinois closed out the match with a 9-1 run to secure the 15-6 set win.
Sophomore outside hitter Bella Bullington led the ‘Cats with a match-high 18 kills and added 10 digs for her second double-double of the season. Junior outside hitter Mara Štiglic finished with 14 kills, while senior outside hitter Campbell Paris added 12. Northwestern also recorded a season-high 14 blocks, led by first-year middle blocker Maya Stillwell’s career-high eight. Thursday also marked sophomore libero Lauren Dignan’s first appearance since the Wildcats’ Oct. 17 matchup against Michigan State. She made her presence felt, recording a team-high 17 digs.
The loss leaves Northwestern at 7-15 overall and 0-11 in conference play. The Wildcats returned to Evanston Saturday to host Rutgers on Senior Night.
Saturday, Oct. 31 vs. Rutgers:
Northwestern’s five-set bad luck continued Saturday night as it fell to Rutgers (11-13, 2-10 B1G) 3-2 on Halloween at Welsh-Ryan Arena.
After their five-set loss to Illinois on Thursday, the ‘Cats had another chance to break their losing streak this time on their home court. The matchup also marked Senior Night, as Northwestern honored its graduating players after the game.
The ‘Cats took a 2-1 lead after winning the second and third sets, putting themselves in position to secure their first conference victory. Northwestern came heartbreakingly close to closing out the match in the fourth set, holding three match points at 24-21. However, Rutgers scored five straight points to take the set 26-24 and force a deciding fifth set.
The Scarlet Knights carried their momentum into the final set, overcoming an early deficit to win 15-12 and complete the comeback.
Bullington and Paris led Northwestern with 19 kills each. Paris hit .326, while Bullington added 10 digs for her second consecutive double-double. First-year setter Ellie Stiernagle recorded 46 assists and 12 digs, and Dignan finished with 17 digs.
Despite another close loss, the ‘Cats closed out their Senior Night celebrations by recognizing five graduating players: libero Drew Wright, libero Gigi Navarrete, outside hitter Lily Wagner, middle blocker Gabrielle Gerry and Paris.
Northwestern will travel west to continue its search for a Big Ten win against Washington next Friday, then Oregon on Sunday.
