Northwestern volleyball (15-9, 5-7 B1G) took home a victory against the Iowa Hawkeyes (12-11, 3-8 B1G) 3-2 on Halloween night before putting away the Maryland Terrapins (8-14, 1-11) 3-1 Sunday afternoon. The theme through both home matches was the return of senior outside hitter Rylen Reid, who was sidelined for four games with injury. Meanwhile, senior hitter Buse Hazan took her place on the bench.
Northwestern grounds Hawkeyes 3-2
Coming off a three-game losing streak, the ‘Cats had a chance to stop the bleeding against Iowa. The
Hawkeyes notched consecutive home victories against Michigan State and Rutgers and looked to continue their hot streak in the first set, flying out to a 4-1 lead. At this point, Reid crawled from the grave of her two-week hiatus and sent two hits to the court, helping Northwestern go on a six-point run to jump ahead. She went on to score five kills and a service ace during the period, and the ‘Cats took set one 25-22.
Set two started as the inverse of set one, as Northwestern stretched a 4-1 lead to 14-5. The Hawkeyes went on a five-point run to reduce the deficit to four, but Reid scored that many kills over the back half of the set, a period in which the ‘Cats never trailed. The undead hitter continued to terrorize Iowa’s defense, as Reid improved on her first set performance with seven kills… and another service ace. The ‘Cats took a smooth win 25-19.
In the third set, Iowa tried to work its way out of the haunted house of Welsh-Ryan Arena without getting swept. Northwestern opened the set with four unanswered points and reached a 9-5 scoreline. The Hawkeyes took advantage of a few Northwestern errors to start a five-point run, which graduate outside hitter Ayah Elnady ended with a kill. The ‘Cats kept it close, grabbing a one-point lead midway through the set. However, Iowa put up two 3+ point runs to avoid the sweep 25-23. Elnady and Reid combined for nine kills and two aces during the set.
Set four started to look like a horror movie for the ‘Cats as they dropped the first nine points. Hawkeye graduate outside hitter Chard’e Vanzandt scored three early kills and extended that number to seven over the fourth set. Elnady tried to lead the ‘Cats back with six kills, but her efforts were not enough as the ‘Cats never led, tied or were even close in this set. With a 25-18 set four blowout, Iowa evened the match 2-2.
The fifth set, however, was inevitable. It was as inevitable as any thriller’s ending: Ghostface sending another victim to the grave, Thanos snapping his fingers or Shohei Ohtani winning the World Series with the Dodgers. Reid would have the last laugh – and laugh she did on her way to an incredible 10 kills. Vanzandt fought ‘till the bitter end for Iowa, scoring seven kills, but her efforts were insufficient to slow Reid’s return, as the ‘Cats took set five 15-10, ending the night 3-2.
Reid was the hero (or villain) of the night, with a career-high 27 kills – the highest tally in a Northwestern volleyball match in two years. Elnady reached two career peaks with 18 kills and 13 digs. Senior setter Lauren Carter added a team-leading 29 assists and junior Sienna Noordermeer followed with 21.
‘Cats trump Terrapins 3-1
With a successful All-Hallows Eve in the books, Northwestern hosted Maryland on Sunday afternoon. The Terrapins were drowning, despite being aquatic reptiles, and had sunk beneath the waves of a four-game losing streak. They looked to break the surface early in the first set, swimming to a narrow 6-5 lead. Northwestern quickly responded with a 6-1 run and reached a 12-8 score. Multiple Wildcat errors led to an eight-point run by the Terps, who managed to earn a set point up 24-22. The ‘Cats roared back with a 6-1 run to extend and win set one 27-25.
Set two featured an immediate pair of Elnady scores, the first of which was a service ace. Five Wildcats earned kills over their first 10 points, but the Terrapins kept pace, leading to an 8-10 score. A close set turned into a blowout when a Maryland attack error, a trio of Reid kills and an Elnady service ace produced a five-score run for the ‘Cats. Elnady forced three kills and two aces during the second set, and the Terps never gained their footing. The home squad never trailed during their 25-17 second-set masterclass.
Going into the third set, Maryland had not won a set since October 19, and it looked like that trend would continue early. The scoreboard showed 6-1 in the ‘Cats favor following a pair of kills from both Reid and first-year outside hitter Isabella Bullington. Reid would score five kills for the second set in a row. The Terrapins evened the score with a five-point run, the ‘Cats responded with a four-point run, ultimately gaining a 17-14 advantage. Maryland responded with three kills and forced an attack error, swimming away to its first set victory in two weeks, 25-23.
The margin for error in set four was razor-thin. Neither team managed to lead by more than two points until late in the set. A 42-second rally resulted in a Bullington kill that gave Northwestern a 23-20 lead. On set point for the ‘Cats, a precise serve from Reid led to a wayward Maryland over-pass. The ball floated to the arms of Bullington, who walked off the night with her fifth kill of the fourth set. Northwestern won the set 25-21 and finished the weekend with a 3-1 victory.
Again, the veteran Reid led the pack with 15 kills while the rookie Bullington trailed with 14 of her own. Elnady rounded out the top three with 10 kills and nine digs. Carter earned another 28 assists while Noordermeer added 20.
The ‘Cats will be on the prowl on the Pacific Coast this weekend to take on USC and UCLA.
