Northwestern volleyball (12-6, 2-4 B1G) went 1-1 on the road this weekend, beating the Scarlet Knights (10-8, 1-5 B1G) in three sets on Friday before falling to the No. 19 Nittany Lions (10-6, 4-2 B1G) in four on Saturday. This weekend had a level impact on Northwestern’s record, but it will still be a bright spot for a squad that had yet to win a game in October.
Northwestern sweeps Rutgers 3-0
Up first for the ‘Cats was a trip to Piscataway, NJ, and they looked a bit sluggish getting off the plane. In the first set, NU struggled
to separate themselves, never leading by more than three points. In fact, Northwestern trailed Rutgers for much of the opening frame, reaching a 15-17 score line. Down two, graduate hitter Ayah Elnady forced back-to-back kills to even the scoreboard. Spurred on by six late Elnady kills (including the set point), Northwestern eventually escaped the first set 25-23.
The ‘Cats improved their start in the second set and, following several kills from senior hitter Rylen Reid, found themselves with an early five-point lead. The Scarlet Knights compounded their mistakes with a plethora of attack and service errors, and the ‘Cats quickly led 16-8. They held a seven-point margin through the rest of the set for a smooth 25-18 win.
In the third set, Northwestern started to lose its way again. The ‘Cats and Scarlet Knights found themselves tied at every point from two through six (and again at eight). NU started to right the ship as the team scored kills on four of the following five serves. Rutgers, however, fought to tame the Wildcats, tying the score at 13 before racing to a 20-15 lead.
With a matchup against No. 19 Penn State less than 24 hours away, Northwestern faced a crossroads: lose the set and fight on for a fourth; or win and get to bed early. The ‘Cats chose the latter and fought on down five to tie the score at 25 apiece.
Needing to win by two points, the teams battled back and forth for nine extra serves. Up 29-28, Elnady blocked a hit from RU’s Zora Hardison, and after review, the officials awarded Northwestern the point, set and match. Senior setter Lauren Carter assisted 12 of the ‘Cats’ scores in the third set and contributed 26 assists and 11 digs on the evening. Elnady and Reid led the attack for the ‘Cats with 17 and 14 kills, respectively. Reid added a lone service ace.
Penn State dominates Northwestern 3-1
A few hours later, the ‘Cats scurried over to University Park to face the No. 19 Nittany Lions. Unlike their football squad, the Nittany Lions volleyball team was ranked headed into Saturday’s matchup. As the evening’s matchup would show, Penn State had not forgiven Northwestern for what Preston Stone & Co. did to former head coach James Franklin’s squad.
In the first set, the ‘Cats went claw-to-claw with their feline opponents early, tying the set every serve until the scoreboard read 6-6. Reid was responsible for half of those points and posted three kills early.
Determined to punish Northwestern, the Nittany Lions outscored the ‘Cats 9-3 over the next 12 serves to reach a 16-9 scoreline. And while 16 and nine are perfect squares, the situation was far from perfect for Northwestern, who would go on to drop set one 18-25. PSU’s Kennedy Martin and Maggie Mendelson combined for 10 kills in the first period.
In set two, Penn State went on a six-point run early and jumped out to a 7-2 lead. The Nittany Lions did not trail for a single point during the remainder of the set. First-year hitter Bella Bullington briefly shortened the gap to three points, but four Penn State hitters had multiple kills to put away the second period 25-20.
The third set looked like all the others early. Both teams made unstoppable kills and unforced errors. Unlike the previous sets, however, the ‘Cats refused to let the Nittany Lions run away with the match. Bullington and Elnady combined for seven of the first 10 points. Down 11-13, Northwestern went on a six-point run to take the lead and win the set 25-20.
Halfway through set four, the impossible seemed possible. Penn State made repeated attack and service errors, gifting Northwestern a tied score at 14. However, the Nittany Lions completed their vengeance with a 9-2 run to end set four 25-16, winning the match 3-1.
Elnady again led the ‘Cats with 15 kills, and Bullington tacked on 11 more. Lauren Carter added another 20 assists to her resume while also leading the ‘Cats with eight digs.
Following the loss to Penn State, Northwestern returns to Welsh-Ryan Arena on Thursday at 8:00 p.m. for a bounce back game against the Michigan Wolverines.
