With the Northwestern volleyball team’s record (12-8, 5-3 Big Ten) better than it has been in more than a decade, the Wildcats must be on top of the world, right?

Wrong.

Although there have been many close calls, NU had lost all four of its games against ranked opponents this season. And after this weekend, the Cats can add No. 23 Michigan State to the list.

Continually losing to the top teams is hurting NU’s claim of being a serious contender.

“It’s more frustrating now,” freshman Lizzie Carlson said. “It seems like we can’t pull through when it really matters.”

NU fell 3-1 to Michigan State at Welsh-Ryan Arena Saturday. The night before, NU beat Michigan, 3-1.

The Spartans, led by outside hitter Kyla Smith’s six kills, won the first game. NU claimed the second but couldn’t keep the momentum going in the third, missing key opportunities to take the lead.

Carlson attributed the Cats’ errors to being “too nervous.”

“We definitely play better when we don’t think about the technical skills too much,” freshman outside hitter Christie Gardner said. “I think we were just trying way too hard.”

NU didn’t fare any better in the fourth game. The Spartans stormed out to an 11-1 lead, and the Cats could only come within six points for the rest of the match. Gardner said she was proud that her team stayed in the game for so long.

“Definitely the effort was there,” she said, “but we had just dug too big of a hole to get out of.”

On Friday, NU beat Michigan in front of a crowd of about 250 that included rowdy Wolverines fans shouting, “Go Blue.” Instead of distracting the Cats, however, the opposing cheers actually made the NU players focus more on the court.

Gardner said the raucous crowd led to the Cats’ victory in the fourth game, 30-21 — the largest margin of the night.

“I actually love it when the fans of the other schools are there,” Gardner said. “I like to make their fans mad.”

Led by middle blocker Erika Lange’s 19 kills and nine blocks, the Cats moved up one spot to second in the Big Ten. For her part, Gardner had 13 blocks and 15 digs, and outside hitter Iwona Lodzik also posted double-digit numbers with 15 kills and 11 digs.

The Cats have another shot to beat a ranked opponent Wednesday when they take on No. 18 Wisconsin at home. After the Michigan State loss, NU coach Keylor Chan tried to refocus his team.

“He said we just have to move on and not think about it for too long — Wisconsin’s on Wednesday, ” Gardner said.