Northwestern volleyball (1-2) has some ironing out to do. That was the sentiment coming out of exhibition play, but it has become clear as day that there are still some pieces to the puzzle being put together.
Tim Nollan has constructed a gauntlet schedule for the Wildcats before Big Ten play, including a Patriot league powerhouse who dominated the conference en route to the NCAA tournament just two games into the year.
It wasn’t the prettiest of slates, but the weekend showed NU the flaws it needed
to see.
Friday, August 28 at George Mason
The ‘Cats 3-1 loss to the Patriots (25-23, 28-26, 18-25, 25-23) gave us a clear look at the glaring issues that plagued NU in exhibition play: offensive inefficiency and a lack of defensive length.
NU’s 5-1 rotation seems to be as such: Drew Wright the sole designated libero (for now), Kayla Kauffman manning the middle, Mara Štiglic playing the left pin with Campbell Paris opposite her, Bella Bullington stationed in the back row and Ellie Stiernagle facilitating the offense as the setter.
Bullington’s versatility, which head coach Tim Nollan raved about in 2025, seems to be what Northwestern will weaponize the most this fall, as she steps into the shoes Rylen Reid and Ayah Elnady occupied last season as two-level attackers. But Friday made it clear that she’s still making the adjustment to the back line, as she appeared far more comfortable at the right pin.
In fact, Štiglic seemed to be the only hitter fully confident in her role at the left post, ending her night with a game-high 17 kills. But even she had a slow first set. NU hit far below the Mendoza line — .067 to be exact — and conceded three of George Mason’s final five scores of the set on errors.
NU was flat on the block through the first two sets as well, as the Patriots had their way on the left post when Štiglic was off the floor or playing as the opposite side hitter. Kiera Hamilton’s 15 was a byproduct of that disparity.
Northwestern succumbed to George Mason in set two once fatigue caught up to its back line. Receiving serves was the Achilles’ heel for the ‘Cats after a long and contentious set that ended with two straight aces from Autumn Martinez-Robinson.
Bullington did all she could down the stretch to keep the ‘Cats in it, accounting for three of NU’s final six points.
From there, the Wildcats got it going by varying the tempo — Stiernagle went into her toolkit to set up her teammates and, at times, get into the kill column herself, attempting a few dumps when she decided against the 1-ball to Hayley Schaaf. The five-minute intermission was the quintessential “breath of fresh air” that Northwestern needed and after a 6-2 run to start. The Wildcats dominated the rest of the way behind the first three kills of Maya Stillwell’s career.
At this point, both teams were playing extremely competitive volleyball and with a one-point lead late. It seemed as though a reverse sweep could be in the cards for NU. But George Mason’s Gabriella Gelfound and company had other ideas.
Down 23-22, Gelfound and Meredith Brown stonewalled Bullington to start the decisive 3-0 run that put Friday’s matchup in the books as a W for George Mason. It was arguably the biggest play of the night, as Gelfound ignited the crowd in her first appearance since 2023 after a pair of ACL tears derailed her career.
For Nollan’s squad, it was the first loss in a season they hope will put Northwestern on the Big Ten volleyball map.
Saturday, Aug. 29 at American
It took an Elise Sterling masterclass for American to beat NU in five sets (22-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-19, 15-12). Sterling’s 20 kills on Saturday night made for the best performance of her college career.
Nollan switched it by getting Gigi Navarrete and Lauren Dignan into the contest early on alongside Wright, but set no. 1 was a first-year frenzy. Stiernagle wasted no time varying the offense, getting Stillwell involved early while helping Bullington heat up on the left pin, hitting .750 for a trio of kills.
This was ironic, considering the history of the Bullington-Stiernagle rivalry — two adversaries in the 2024 state title game.
Stillwell found success on the slide and off the gap ball in set one, helping NU to a .324 hitting and the victory. On the contrary, AU’s seven errors created a four-point deficit too large to erase, but cleaned it up the very next set to even the contest at one apiece.
Statistically, the teams played set two pretty evenly, but just like the night before, momentum was the decisive factor. The Eagles rattled off five unanswered points near the beginning, including three just before the media timeout, and claimed five of the final six.
NU’s hitting percentage came back down to earth at a .241, but the block stayed strong, as Stillwell continued to stonewall AU at almost every opportunity she got. That goes for the third as well, where she’d assist Štiglic on the set-winning block on the left pin.
Paris began to cook with a half-dozen kills, bringing her total to a team-high 12.
The first-year middles also combined for 12 through three and helped Kaitlyn Bodnar earn her first career assist.
Between the end of the third and start of the fourth, NU went on a 7-0 run and seemed to have the game in the bag.
American dug the deepest its dug in a while and found a 6-1 run later in the set to yank ahead, and Sterling left her mark on the beginning of the Eagle comeback with a pair of kills to win it for AU and set the contest to a winner-take-all fifth set.
After jumping ahead 9-7, AU’s momentum was briefly stopped with a 4-1 Northwestern run, started by Paris’ NU-best 15th kill. That was all the Wildcats had left in the tank. American took control, conceding only one more point en route to the come-from-behind victory.
They looked great, but they gassed out.
Loss number two.
Sunday, Aug. 30 at Georgetown
Another switch from Nollan on Sunday: Dignan was given a shot in the libero jersey as she got the starting nod. She delivered with 15 digs in a swift sweep of the Hoyas (25-23, 25-15, 25-17).
Everything clicked for NU in all facets of the game, and Bullington was the prime example of a masterful day for the Wildcats, finishing with 12 kills, three aces and a pair of blocks.
While Schaaf and Stillwell split reps in the middle, Stiernagle found her groove extremely fast, pitching in 30 assists to every outside hitter and middle blocker that saw action in the contest, while working in her signature dump twice.
Through the first weekend of play, what we know is this.
- All three liberos will play major roles this season, just like a year ago.
- Stiernagle has a special connection with Schaaf and Stillwell that diversifies the attack — one that’s earned the first-year middles higher spots on the depth chart as Kauffman didn’t play in the latter two contests. It remains to be seen how NU navigates this when Gabrielle Gerry becomes fully healthy.
- Bullington is the Swiss army knife of the team and will be utilized in every way possible
Northwestern will take the next three days to ready itself for the Big Ten-SEC Challenge beginning on Thursday, Sept. 3, in Starkville, Mississippi. The ‘Cats will take on Alabama and the hosting Bulldogs down south.
