It was a whirlwind two-match stretch for head coach Tim Nollan’s squad at the Northwestern Invitational.
In their final two contests before Big Ten play, the ‘Cats finished 1-1, leaving their non-conference slate with a 10-2 record that reflects a dramatic improvement from 2024’s 2-6 mark.
Still, the journey wasn’t without bumps. NU fell in straight sets to St. Thomas on Thursday, but it bounced back big-time on Saturday to pick up a three-set victory over Campbell, who had just swept the Tommies the day before.
Northwestern 0, St. Thomas 3 (Sept. 18)
The Tommies entered Welsh-Ryan Arena with a 6-3 record and a six-match winning streak, but their straight-sets victory over a resurgent Northwestern squad was still highly unexpected. The ‘Cats struggled mightily throughout, scoring 15, 17 and 20 points in the three sets, respectively. As a team, they failed to gel, often falling out of system o were unable to get quality swings at the net.
The first set started out close, as NU jumped out to an early 8-6 lead. From there, however, the Tommies took 14 of the next 18 points, and although the ‘Cats rallied slightly to make the score 21-15, St. Thomas rattled off four straight to take the first set handily, 25-15. Ayah Elnady and Rylen Reid picked up four kills apiece, but few Wildcats stepped up to complement their efforts, and Northwestern allowed four service aces as well.
The second set was slightly closer, and the ’Cats led 7-5 early, but once again, St. Thomas stepped on the gas to pull away. The Tommies rattled off seven of eight points to take a 12-8 advantage, and from there, NU simply could not find momentum, losing 25-17 as St. Thomas was bolstered by seven kills from Megan Wetter, who had a team-leading 17 in the match.
Facing the threat of a sweep, NU fought hard in set three, but it was all St. Thomas early, as the ‘Cats fell into a huge 13-4 hole. After the score reached 18-9, Northwestern went on a huge five-point run led by a couple of aces from Drew Wright. Ultimately, though, the deficit was too much, and it ensured a 25-20 loss for Northwestern and a straight-sets victory for the Tommies.
Northwestern 3, Campbell 0 (Sept. 20)
The Camels also entered this match amid a hot stretch, with an 8-2 record and a seven-match winning streak capped off by its St. Thomas sweep on Sept. 19. This time, the ‘Cats came to play, forcing a sloppy performance by Campbell that included 19 errors and a .084% hit percentage.
Set one was a breeze for the ‘Cats, who catapulted to a 13-5 lead and never looked back en route to a 25-12 win. Reid came out swinging, picking up five of NU’s first nine points via kills and ending the set with seven kills already.
In set two, the Camels hung much closer, but a whopping ten errors ultimately doomed their chances, contributing to a 25-18 victory for the Wildcats. Throughout the contest, Campbell made unforced errors at the net and on the service line, allowing the ‘Cats to frequently retake momentum and prevent big runs from their opposition. Still, the Camels trailed just 19-17 at one point in the set, but after three straight attack errors and a Reid kill, their chances were all but extinguished.
The Wildcats took set three 25-19, continuing to lean on their outside hitters and getting big performances from Reid, Elnady, Campbell Paris and Bella Bullington. Again, Campbell hung close, and the ‘Cats led 17-16 at one point, seemingly setting up for a competitive end to set three. However, a service error from Hailey Heytvelt (who had just picked up an ace) killed the Camels’ momentum, and from there, Northwestern went on a big run to close the match out.
Overall, Reid led the way with 14 kills, and first-year Kayla Kauffman added seven blocks, tying her season-high. It was a crucial win for the ‘Cats, who successfully re-established momentum heading into their important Big Ten opener next Wednesday.
Following the pair of matches, the Wildcats will have four straight Big Ten affairs at home. That stretch begins with a matchup against Indiana on Wednesday at 8 PM CT.
